SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ) – Authorities in Shawano County are crediting a mom for helping them catch an alleged child sex predator on Friday night.
23-year-old Nicholas Bennett of Portland, Oregon, was arrested after arranging to meet a 13-year-old Shawano boy who attended his traveling basketball camp three days before.
Shawano County Sheriff Adam Bieber says Bennett allegedly began texting the child about his athletic skills, but then they gradually became sexually suggestive and explicit.
“The kid was using the mom’s cell phone for the day, and she saw some of the text messages the coach was sending the boy and it was very concerning obviously,” said Sheriff Bieber.
After seeing the messages, she contacted the sheriff’s office and they then took over the conversation. Deputies arranged a meeting with Bennett for Friday night, and that’s when he was arrested.
“The lesson is that there are predators out there that want to harm and abuse our children and we have to be vigilant as parents,” Bieber says. “So it’s very important for parents to be very active and involved in their children’s devices and do routine checks on them.”
Bennett appeared in Shawano County Circuit Court on Monday and is charged with using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and attempted child enticement. He’s being held on a $100,000 cash bond.
MORE VICTIMS POSSIBLE NATIONWIDE
Detectives with the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department are investigating whether there are more victims of Bennett, given that he’s coaching with a traveling basketball camp.
“What I read through the (criminal) complaint that this guy, no doubt, does this often,” says Sheriff Bieber, who’s trying to find a schedule or itinerary of where this group has been and where they were headed.
According to Bieber, Bennett was working with the camp tied to the Pro Shot Shooting System. Its founder, Paul Hoover, was with Bennett in Shawano on Friday night.
“We had contact with the founder, the founder was traveling with this coach,” Bieber said, adding that he wouldn’t speculate as to Hoover’s role in this case.
Authorities believe there’s plenty of smoke with this potential fire, especially after hearing from Bennett’s sister.
“His sister was on our Facebook page commenting,” says Bieber. “From what we understand this was not the first time, and she believes there’s more victims out there.”
