Officials say Bentley suffocated Jetseta Gage

Details emerge in the 10-year-old's death

By Traci Finch - The Daily Iowan

Published: Thursday, April 7, 2005

A formal declaration of charges against Roger Paul Bentley alleged on Wednesday that the registered sex offender suffocated the 10-year-old girl with a plastic bag shortly after taking her from her Cedar Rapids home.

The 37-year-old, charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree murder, also sexually abused Jetseta Gage sometime between March 24 and 25, the court records allege. Authorities found the girl's body hours later in an abandoned mobile home near Kalona; her feet had been bound and the bag tied around her head.

Before Wednesday, no details of the incident were released except that Jetseta had died of asphyxia and was sexually abused.

Since Bentley's arrest, Gov. Tom Vilsack has said he would consider a measure calling for life without parole for second-time sex abusers. Some lawmakers have also expressed renewed interest in reinstating the death penalty.

Bentley reportedly met Jetseta's mother through his brother, 33-year-old James Howard Bentley, who was recently charged in Linn County with molesting the girl.

Twelve hours after Roger Bentley allegedly kidnapped Jetseta, authorities found her in the mobile home after he answered the door with blood stains on his clothing. He did not resist arrest.

An unidentified "acquaintance" of Bentley saw the Amber Alert issued for Jetseta and phoned police about his possible location. The caller described the mobile home as "a perfect place to hide out if you needed to."

Jetseta's body was identified through fingerprints.

A Johnson County judge set Roger Bentley's arraignment for April 14; his bond is still set at $2 million. Roger Bentley, who is being held in the Linn County Jail, could face life in prison if convicted.

E-mail DI reporter Traci Finch at:

traci-finch@uiowa.edu

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