Man sentenced for sex abuse

CEDAR RAPIDS (MCT) — A 26-year-old Cedar Rapids man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday for sexually abusing a 4-yearold girl last summer.

Daryl Bentley pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse as part of a plea agreement in Linn County District Court. He was originally charged with second-degree sexual abuse.

Bentley sexually abused the child while he was alone with her June 17, Assistant Linn County Attorney Jason Besler said. The child was left in the care of Bentley’s girlfriend, with whom he lived, Besler said.

The family of the victim supported the plea agreement to avoid further harm to the child, Besler said.

“With this plea, he will also be on lifetime parole and (sex offender) registration,” Besler said. “I think it was a good result for this case.” No victim impact state ments were given by the girl’s family, and Bentley didn’t speak at the sentencing.

Bentley is related to Roger Bentley, who is serving a life sentence for the 2005 kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old Jetseta Gage.

Roger Bentley’s brother James Bentley is serving a 100-year federal prison sentence for taking pornographic pictures of Jetseta and a 1-year-old girl in 2003. He also was sentenced in Benton County District Court last year to 25 years for sexually abusing Jetseta.