Page 6 - Sergeant Davis News Today

The hard-hit neighborhoods and making sure they can get the roadways clear for emergency vehicles, still having a tough time in and around areas of jefferson city today. so a long road ahead, but definitely on it here in missouri. craig? >> so jarring to see so much of peoples personal belongings just scattered there in jefferson city. morgan, thank you for checking with with you later. thank you, thank you. this memorial day weekend americans should be honoring those who made the ultimate s k...

Thing ive come to know about you guys, you dont really like to talk about the circumstances surrounding that day. i wont ask you about the circumstances specifically, but what does it mean to wear that medal? >> well, to me, it represents everyone who has served or is serving especially those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. this memorial day, i tell a lot of folks that we shouldnt wait until someone is injured or killed to honor them. we should also be honoring our military, our veterans still ...

>> thank you. >> sergeant davis, thank you. >> i appreciate you. >> many jobs as long as we do our job, the job gets done. >> amen to that. when we come back, democrats vying for the white house making free college a corner stone of their campaign platforms. were going to take you to state run by a republican governor with its own free college program. program. my time is thin, but so is my lawn. now theres scotts thickr lawn 3-in-1 solution. with a soil improver!

>> if all the accusations against arthur bennett are eventually proved true, if it turns out that the career soldier was a serial child molester and murderer, how did he get away with it for so long? how could a man like that not only survive but thrive in the united states marine corps? ♪ we will fight our countrys battles ♪ >> those are questions gene davis would like to see the marine corps answer. what would you ask them if you could? >> people in okinawa, id ask them, youre a marine, yo...

As we return to our crime files investigation, the suspected child molester has been apprehended and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse. among the alleged victims, his own daughters. will arthur bennett admit to these crimes and how will he explain the burned body found in his trailer? once again, keith morrison. >> he is pale and looks almost timid in his orange prison jumpsuit, a far cry from the confident figure he once cut in a marine corps uniform. mr. bennett. >> how are you doin...

>> yes, sir! >> staff sergeant davis retired from the marine corps in 1998 after 20 years of service. when we met up with him, he was giving orders to his recruits in a weekly afterschool program that teaches kids about the marine corps. what is it about the marines that you like? >> of the pride, honor, commitment, courage. you can pretty much trust another marine. >> thats why, davis says, when bennett asked davis 13-year-old daughter to baby-sit, it seemed just fine. but in the weeks that fol...

Been substantiated? well, davis says that the finding was made by a social worker, not a criminal investigator, and that the burden of proof in that office is lower. colonel davis says that without strong evidence, the commander may have chosen to spare a young child the trauma of a courtroom ordeal. >> you really have to be there and see the look in the eyes of a victim when an individual whom they have brought charges against is acquitted and walks out of the courtroom a free man. no one is se...

>> it was horrifying until i got up on that stand. >> this is davis daughter kaylynn, today, out of the shadows speaking publicly about her ordeal in yuma, where she told the court bennett drugged and raped her when she was just 13 years old. >> i looked at him, and when he realized that i could look him straight in the face, point him out, and that i was going to be the one telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, he started to shake. i was so happy that this time i wasnt ...

Of a century in jail. now the marine corps followed the rules again. since bennett was dead, the corps officially closed the rape and molestation cases against him. after reviewing staff sergeant bennetts service record, his commander ruled that his "term of service" had been honorable and that he was entitled to all the benefits that would result from an honorable discharge. the body was cremated and staff sergeant bennett didnt get just any funeral. he was laid to rest with full military honor...

Apology to davis daughter, an apology to his own children. >> the military owes them that. >> they do. and not a form letter either. >> and the briscos would like to see something else -- a change in policy. they suggest that when a child accuses a soldier of sexual abuse, the base commander shouldnt have the power to dismiss the charges without a trial. >> i understand the system. that commanding officer needs to have a certain amount of authority. but it should not be absolute. i mean, there a...