WOODSTOCK, Ga. — A Woodstock man will spend 25 years in prison without parole, according to the Cherokee County DA's Office, after he "weaseled into the lives of innocent children, then violated them in unspeakable ways."
John Bennett, 38, pleaded guilty to "multiple acts of aggravated child molestation, rape and child molestation," a release from the DA's Office said.
The victims included three children, ages 11 to 13, with one describing how Bennet "would engage in bribery, offering money or gifts in exchange for sex acts."
Two of the children lived in the same home as Bennett, and their mother first brought the allegations against him in 2022 "after finding Bennett in a bedroom with her child." The third victim was a child who frequently visited the home, the DA's release said.
“This defendant weaseled into the lives of innocent children, then violated them in unspeakable ways, manipulating and betraying them,” the prosecutor who tried the case, Rachel Hines of the Special Victims Unit, said in a statement. “Then, when he was caught in the act, he ran away, like a coward, afraid to accept responsibility for his actions.”
According to the DA's Office, Bennett fled Woodstock to avoid arrest after the allegations against him were made and was caught within a day in Mississippi. The DA's Office said a suicide attempt after his arrest left him paralyzed from the waist down.
The full charges against Bennett included aggravated child molestation, statutory rape, five counts of child molestation, criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation and failure to register as a sex offender.
“We are thankful for the investigation done by the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office which led to the arrest and successful prosecution of this dangerous sexual predator,” Acting District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said in a statement. “Through this plea, justice is served without subjecting these children to reliving horrendous acts in a trial. And, today, our community is safer with this defendant behind bars.”
