CHARLESTON, WV (WOAY) – The former Nicholas County deputy arrested on child pornography charges has pled guilty.
Jarrod Steven Bennett pled guilty to the production of child pornography. It stems from an incident in March of 2023 when he recorded two explicit videos of a girl under the age of 12.
The videos show a sleeping girl’s bare legs and buttocks and Bennett touching himself near her.
He saved them to Snapchat, a popular social media and messaging app, thereby transmitting them on the internet.
He will be sentenced on June 26. He faces at least 15 and up to 30 years in prison. He could also get up to a lifetime of supervised release after that sentence is served.
Nicholas County Sheriff William Nunley released a statement following the conviction.
“This was a terrible crime, and that it was committed by someone we considered a brother-in-arms makes it so much worse,” Nunley said. “We will never turn a blind eye to anyone sworn to uphold the law in this great State or Country.”