Sex Offender Targets Butler High School Student

Augusta, GA—Tangela, Butler High School parent: “They shouldn’t be out in the public, they need to be still locked up and behind bars.”

A parent of 3 Butler High School students, Tangela, was outraged when she heard what investigators say 43-year-old Robert Lee Benefield did Thursday morning.

Lt. Richard Roundtree, Richmond County Board of Education: “Officers at the school received a complaint from a concerned parent that a vehicle had been following a student and she noticed the suspect, manually sexually stimulating himself inside the vehicle while trying to talk to the student.”

Investigators it all happened in front of the Jeff Maxwell Library, while the 16-year-old Butler High School student was walking to school. The concerned parent also claims she’d seen Benefield taking pictures of the girl with his phone. The parent wrote down Benefield’s tag number, and he was arrested shortly thereafter.

Lt. Richard Roundtree: “This is a prime case of how the community comes together and when there predators out there stalking our children, the community, and all of the resources in the community come together and take the person off the street as quickly as possible.”

Many parents in the area were shocked about Benefield’s background. He’s a registered sex offender, convicted of rape in 1993. A wakeup call for many in the area when it comes to protecting their children.

Latasha Staten, parent: “I have 9 myself, and they’ll be outside playing and you know, it’s not even safe for them to be outdoors because of someone like him riding around the car, messing with kids.”

Tanquita, is a senior at Butler High School, she says she’s always on guard when walking to school…and this case is just another reminder why.

Tanquita, Butler High School senior: “Like when I walk to school and I see something like that, they’ll slow up and ask me how old I am, or whatever, and I just keep walking because I don’t know what they’re capable of doing.”

Tangela: “Age isn’t anything but a number to them, they don’t care nothing about their age. They’ll do anything, just anything, and I feel that that is sad. Whoever that parent was, I’m glad they called and got the tag number and caught his little self.“

The investigation is ongoing, but as of now, Benefield will be charged with indecent exposure, which is a misdemeanor.