British reality TV star Andrew Bennett jailed for sexually assaulting teen
Disgraced British reality TV star Andrew Bennett was jailed Thursday for sexually assaulting a teenage boy last year.
The 47-year-old, who is best known for starring in the popular British reality TV show “Gogglebox,” pleaded guilty to one charge of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and two charges of sexual activity with a child.
Bennett was sentenced to 29 months in jail during a hearing in Newcastle Crown Court on Thursday, according to a press release by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The court heard how the shamed reality star took pictures with his teen victim, before pinning him on a couch and leaving a hickey on his neck. He then lured the teen into the bedroom for sex, BBC News reported.
Bennett, who lives in Sunderland, was ordered to sign the sex offenders register. He is also subject to a restraining order for five years and must follow a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.
Prosecutor Glenn Gatland said Bennett told the teen he was gay, before asking if his victim was. The victim responded by saying he wasn’t, BBC News reported.
“The defendant started to put his hands down his pants again then told him to turn away from him and started kissing him on the back of his neck and gave him a love bite,” Gatland told the court.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Andrew Jones said in a press release Bennett “denied having touched his victim” during his first interview with police.
He claimed “only to have spoken to the boy at the time of the alleged attacks, but then claimed that his behavior had been affected by slimming tablets when further physical evidence was shown to him,” Jones added.
“Bennett carried out these attacks in selfish pursuit of his own sexual gratification and the impact on this boy has been significant,” Jones concluded.
Bennett appeared on Season 12 of the reality TV show in 2018. The show documents different households’ reactions across the UK as they watch the previous week’s television from their own homes.
Reps for “Gogglebox” declined to comment.
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