A 42-year-old teacher at a Salem charter school was arrested on Wednesday in a sting operation, believing he was meeting a 14-year-old girl for a sexual encounter, law enforcement officials reported.
According to Bostonglobe, Darren Benedick, a gym and health teacher at Salem Academy Charter School, connected with what he thought was an underage girl online in a “teens only” chat room, according to Essex District Attorney Paul F. Tucker’s office. Benedick allegedly expressed a desire to meet in person, sent an obscene image, and described explicit acts he wished to perform. They arranged to meet on Wednesday.
The “girl” was actually an undercover officer with the Newbury Police Department, and Benedick was arrested upon arrival at the undisclosed location.
By the afternoon, Benedick was arraigned in Newburyport District Court on two felony charges. He pleaded not guilty to one count of child enticement and one count of disseminating obscene material to a minor, court records show. Combined bail for both charges was set at $5,000. Benedick was ordered to home confinement, required to wear a GPS monitor, and forbidden from contacting children. He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Friday.
In a related development, Chaotic Wrestling in North Andover announced on Wednesday night that they had terminated Benedick’s role as a commentator, where he was known as Reginald Kensington III. The organization gave emphasis to their Zero Tolerance Policy and stated their commitment to maintaining a safe environment, highlighting the unfortunate prevalence of such behavior in the industry and their dedication to fostering positive change.
”Today we received word that Chaotic commentator Darren Benedick was arrested on charges of child enticement and dissemination of matter harmful to minors. Chaotic has a strict Zero Tolerance Policy and terminated all dealings with him immediately.
It is an unfortunate reality that this type of behavior has been prevalent in the history of the industry. Chaotic Wrestling stands resolute in the effort to cultivate a safe environment and will continue to take active steps to steer the business into a better future.”
It is simply shocking that a pro wrestling commentator could ever do such a thing and we will have to wait and see whether Darren Benedick will ultimately end up in jail for a long time.
What do you think of this shocking story concerning Darren Benedick? Let us know in the comments section below!