Crime & Safety
Man Convicted of Raping, Killing 10-Year-Old Girl Protests Removal of Her Pictures from his Cell
Roger Bentley, convicted of the rape and murder of Jetsetta Gage, wrote a letter to a judge protesting the removal of photos of the girl from his prison cell.
A man serving two life sentences after being convicted for the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl would like his photos back.
The photos are of his 10-year-old victim.
According to a report from the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Roger Bentley, 46, who was found guilty in 2006 of the rape and murder of 10-year-old Jetsetta Gage before her body was found near Iowa City, has written a judge protesting the removal of the photos from his cell by prison guards.
Bentley, 46, mailed a hand-written request for an attorney July 3 after an unspecified number of photos were apparently seized from him at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison.
Bentley said in the letter he was “shaken down” and told he was no longer allowed to have photos of Jetseta or other children, including family members.
“They did not give a reason, nor any court documentation” for the removal of the photos, wrote Bentley, who asked the court to intervene before his photos were destroyed by prison staff.
Bentley has already lost an appeal of the conviction that went to the Iowa Supreme Court, where Bentley argued that there had been a lack of evidence for his conviction of the kidnapping and murder of Gage after his brother, James, was convicted of sexually abusing her.
According to the report, the judge who received the letter is asking Bentley for a clarification before proceeding to rule on it: is Bentley challenging his criminal sentence again, or the actions taken by correctional officials against him?
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