Child sex abuser sentenced to 120 years; judge calls victim a ‘hero’

“What he did to me is not who I am. And I am worthy of much more love than he showed me. And I am worthy of being the person I think I can be. And I’m brave, not because I stand against Benjamin Manning, but because I do it as myself and not as the girl he forced me to be,” the girl told the judge.

The abuse happened over several months in 2014 when Manning was a live-in babysitter for the girl’s family in Salt Lake County. The girl eventually told her mother that Manning inappropriately touched her for about three months.

But when police attempted to interview her, “she did not want to talk about what happened with Manning because it was a ‘secret,'” charging documents state. Five years later, however, after the family had moved to Colorado, the girl felt comfortable enough to tell law enforcement what had happened.

After charges were filed, however, the pandemic-related shutdown happened. Court proceedings were crippled, and the justice system became backed up. Numerous cases were severely delayed.

Manning’s guilty verdicts came 10 years to the day that court records say the abuse began.

Manning, however, did not take the witness stand during the trial, refused to participate in the pre-sentence report compiled by Adult Probation and Parole, and has already made it known that he intends to appeal his conviction.

At the April 2 sentencing, the atmosphere was contentious from the start. Manning’s attorney, Sue Crimson, tried to explain to the judge that her client was sorry for what happened to the girl.

“He does regret that this happened …,” she started.

“Well, hang on,” Kouris said, cutting her off. “He regrets what happened? He’s not saying anything happened. He regrets that he’s in front of the court? Because if he didn’t do anything, then there’s nothing to regret, right?”

Crimson attempted to explain that Manning was in an “impossible situation” because he wanted to preserve his right to appeal, and claimed he “takes full responsibility and will engage in treatment while at the prison.”

“Wait, you said it again, responsibility for what?” Kouris again interjected. “I think if he’s denying anything happened, I don’t think that’s a valid argument at this point. Because if nothing happened, there’s nothing to take responsibility for, right?”

Crimson asked the judge to issue a lesser sentence while bringing up points such as Manning has a lot of family support, he is very active in his running club and was a Sunday School teacher.

“We’re just asking for mercy and time. Again, he was only 22, and has every intention of bettering himself in this time that he spends in prison,” Manning’s attorney said.

When the girl’s mother, Berkley, addressed the court, however, she became very emotional and had a strong reaction to the defense attorney’s comments.

“First of all, (expletive) him and his running club. I haven’t run in 10 years because I was on suicide watch,” she said. KSL.com is only giving the mother’s first name to protect the identity of her daughter.

“I just can’t believe I had to sit here and hear how amazing his life is, because ours has not been amazing. We’ve been through therapy, counseling, six hospitals, three suicide attempts, and that’s not mentioning mine,” Berkley said. “She has scars up and down both legs.”

Because of what happened to her daughter, Berkley said there are some people whom she will never trust again, including Sunday School teachers. And every time her daughter tries to date someone or every summer when her scars become more pronounced, they are constantly reminded of what happened.

“Here’s the worst thing, we come to trial and he doesn’t take the stand. He won’t take the stand,” the mother sternly noted, admitting she is angry. “You can’t cheat God. So, Mr. ‘I don’t cuss, I don’t drink and I don’t have premarital sex, I just molest children,’ you can’t cheat God, OK?

“I want to stop crying and I want joy and I want to live my life again,” Berkley said in conclusion.

Before the girl addressed the court, Kouris praised her and another boy whom Manning molested in Massachusetts and who traveled to Utah to testify against Manning during the girl’s trial, for their courage.

“Everything that happened to you and happened to (the other boy) is going to be stopped now. You just turned the spigot off,” the judge said. “So the first thing I want you to understand is you’re a hero. The second thing I want you to understand is that there is absolutely none of this that is your fault. … None of this is your fault. Period.”

When the girl — who is an avid poetry reader — addressed the court, she talked about the person she used to be, and the person she believes she could have been based on what she reads.

“I don’t know who I would have been had this not happened to me. And I don’t know who I was before it did. My entire conscious life I have been someone who I don’t think I was destined to be because of Benjamin Manning. I have been acting as a person who I don’t really feel like I am, and because that’s the person he taught me to be,” she said.

“I was never allowed to find out who I was. And I don’t care if he goes running or goes to church groups, because if he uses his Bible-touching hand to touch a little kid, it doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything if you believe in God and if you don’t drink and don’t swear but you touch little kids and you make them think for the rest of their lives that there’s something wrong with them and that they will never be loved by anybody because you show them what love is. But it’s not love if you’re forcing them to lie to their parents, and to lie to themselves. It’s not love if you were hurting them,” the girl said.

When asked if he wanted to say anything, Manning again declined to speak.

“You don’t want to tell anybody anything?” Kouris pressed.

“No, your honor,” Manning responded.

Prosecutor Owen Stewart, however, said just before sentencing that the maximum penalty was appropriate in this case.

“This man is a coward and a liar, and there’s nothing he won’t put people through to get what he wants,” Stewart said. “Benjamin Manning is one of the most dangerous people I’ve ever come across. He’s dangerous because he’s so calculating, he’s so manipulating. … He’s a liar and he will do whatever he can to get what he wants.

“He won’t admit to it. And he deserves the chance to never hurt another kid again. He has earned that,” he concluded.

Kouris then issued the harshest penalty possible to Manning, telling him bluntly, “It’s all your fault.”

“You’ve hurt a wonderful little person. The good news is she’s strong. She’s stronger than you are, quite frankly, and she’s going to get through this.”