Judge denies request for NBC tapes of Bennett story

Wednesday, April 7, 1999 | 9:47 a.m.

Bennett is charged by the Marines with desertion and sexual misconduct. He also faces charges in Clark County including murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and arson.

He is accused of faking his own death in a trailer fire near Las Vegas in February 1994 in an effort to escape an earlier court-martial.

Attorneys for both sides in the latest court-martial case had sought unedited videotapes of an interview conducted with Bennett for a "Dateline NBC" show.

A military judge, Lt. Col. John F. Blanche, found that the prosecution and defense attorneys failed to prove the tapes are necessary for them to make their case.

The judge noted that NBC had offered to provide attorneys with an authenticated tape of the hour-long broadcast.

"This is a fair proposal, and will adequately serve the ends of justice in this case," Blanche said.

No date has been set for the court-martial.

Bennett has previously pleaded no contest in Utah to felony sexual abuse charges, including attacks on his two daughters. He has received a 45-year prison term in that case.

He is awaiting a June trial in Las Vegas on murder and other charges related to the February 1994 incident.

After Bennett allegedly faked his death, he moved with his ex-wife and three daughters to Hurricane, Utah, where he assumed the name of Joseph Benson.

He true identity was discovered when he was arrested on sexual assault charges involving two of his daughters and one of their friends. A fingerprint check revealed his true identity as Bennett, the man authorities thought died in the trailer fire. The victim of the fire has never been identified.