Weare man convicted of sex trafficking boy in Louisiana; facing charges in New Hampshire
Facing 14 pending similar charges for six separate victims in New Hampshire, prosecutors say
Facing 14 pending similar charges for six separate victims in New Hampshire, prosecutors say
Facing 14 pending similar charges for six separate victims in New Hampshire, prosecutors say
A New Hampshire man could be sentenced 25 to 99 years after being convicted on multiple charges, including sexual exploitation of a child in Louisiana.
Benjamin Hart, 28, of Weare, was convicted after a four day jury trial in Washington Parish, being found guilty of computer-aided solicitation of a juvenile under the age of 13, trafficking of a child for sexual purposes, and sexual battery of a juvenile under the age of 13.
Prosecutors said Hart met the 10-year-old boy in 2020 while playing Xbox and the communication continued and moved to Snapchat, where Hart sent sexually explicit images of himself.
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Hart traveled to Louisiana regularly to meet the boy, staying for extended visits and sexually abused the child. Much of it took place in Hart's 18-wheeler, prosecutors said. Between 2020 and 2022, Hart gave the boy money, a cell phone and gaming systems and used those gifts as leverage to coerce the child into further sexual acts, prosecutors said.
Hart was present for jury selection but did not return for the rest of the trial, prosecutors said.
He is facing 14 pending similar charges for six separate victims in New Hampshire, prosecutors said. Carroll County Attorney Keith Blair told News 9 that the cases are still active and being prosecuted and that Hart has active warrants for charges.
Blair said they were aware Hart was facing similar charges in Louisiana and once the charges and sentencing are finalized, they can begin the process of determining the best path forward with the charges in the Granite State.
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Detectives with the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office initiated the investigation in November 2022, the sheriff's office said. In a January 2024 release, the sheriff's office said he had an existing case involving multiple juveniles in Carroll County and despite being aware of the pending charges in Louisiana, he did not surrender to law enforcement.
Richard Mello is a safety consultant and retired Chief of the Lebanon Police Department, and he says cases involving technology at this level can be challenge for investigators.
"They have to be as adept (in most cases more adept) at using the internet and these resources than the offender." he said.
Mello also believes that investigators used the data tracking from both Xbox and Snapchat to track Hart down.
Hart was apprehended in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in April 2024. He contested extradition and after a competency hearing in January 2024, was found competent by a New Mexico medical examiner and judge and taken to the jail in Louisiana.
Hart will be sentenced on May 16 where he faces the possibility of 25 to 99 years.