Pastor lured teen in gay chat room
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9:01 a.m.Police: Pastor lured teen in gay chat room
taken from here
Eric Johnston, Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
Thursday, October 23, 2003 / 05:10 PM
Claiming he was trying to lead a teen down the "path of righteousness," a self-described youth pastor was arrested in Broward County, Fla., on Monday for allegedly trying to lure a 15-year-old boy for sex, via a gay Internet chat room.
Hewart Lee Bennett, 46, of West Palm Beach, was charged with "using a computer service to (or attempt to) seduce, solicit, lure or entice a child to commit any illegal sexual or lewd act," according to a press release from the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
On Monday, a Broward County sheriff's deputy was dispatched to a residential area, on a report of a suspicious person in a white Buick. The deputy located a car matching the description nearby, and a young male was seen walking from the vehicle when the deputy approached.
The deputy said the driver of the car identified himself as Hewart Lee Bennett.
According to the sheriff's office report, Bennett told deputies he was an assistant youth minister at the First Seventh Day Adventist Church in West Palm Beach, and was in the area to talk to young boys and girls about being gay and try to put them on the "right path." Bennett allegedly admitted he was in the area trying to find a teenage boy he met online, and that he had met other kids, between 15 and 17 years old, in gay chat rooms.
When deputies made contact with the young male seen walking from Bennett's car, the youth said Bennett stopped him and asked for directions to his house, then demanded that he get in the car. The youngster said he purposely gave Bennett the wrong address, and then ran home out of fear.
The 15-year-old male, whose name is being withheld, said he didn't know Bennett, and had only talked to him in a gay chat room. The youngster said Bennett had claimed to be a young male. The boy also said Bennett "wanted to come over and have anal sex … and teach me different sexual positions."
When asked about the allegations, the deputy said Bennett admitted to talking about sex with children he meets online, and claimed he only described sex acts in order to gain their trust, so he could "tell them about Jesus."
One advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth called the allegations against Bennett "frustrating," for several reasons.
"The Internet links gay and lesbian kids, (allowing them to) talk to each other about problems facing them, and (also) to hook them up with resources and organizations which can help," said Craig Bowman, executive director for the National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC). Bowman told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network Thursday that preying on LGBT youth online violates one of the few areas where they feel safe.
The NYAC is a national organization that serves lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.
Bowman said this kind of incident is no more prevalent in the gay community than in the heterosexual community. "But it's always a frustration to hear about," said Bowman, "because it feeds into negative stereotypes about our community."
Broward County Sheriff's Office investigators believe this is not the first time Bennett lured a minor to meet him after vivid online discussions of sexual acts. Members of the LEACH Task Force (Law Enforcement Against Child Harm) are continuing to investigate the case to determine if Bennett had contact with any other youths online, or if he had physical contact with those he met in person.
Sheriff's spokesman Jim Leljedal said Bennett was released Wednesday on $1,000 bail.
Leljedal said he was unaware which Web sites or chat rooms Bennett and the boy used to interact.
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