Spokane Valley sex offender re-arrested in Idaho after run-in with victim’s mother in Montana

When Pamela Nearing walked into the restaurant at Quinn’s Hot Springs Sunday afternoon, the last thing she expected to see was the man who had molested her son sitting at the bar with a teenager.

Nearing summoned the courage to confront 62-year-old Kenneth L. Bennett, who spent more than a decade in prison for the crime.

“I don’t know how I managed to even get up out of my chair when I realized it was Ken Bennett with that boy,” Nearing said.

The police were called as the two got into a confrontation.

Nearing recalls Bennett saying he “served his time” before fleeing the resort along the Clark Fork River near Paradise, Montana.

Nearing then began unraveling how it came to be that Bennett was with a 19-year-old man who he supervised while working at Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area.

Bennett was convicted of two counts of lewd conduct with a minor in Shoshone County in 2004. But he was accused of molesting multiple children in Washington, Montana and Idaho. He was a former volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters and frequently befriended families with teen boys, according to a 2004 story in The Spokesman-Review.

Due to a Spokane County detective’s error, the Washington case against Bennett languished for months. In the meantime, he took a group of boys camping in Montana. They reported Bennett assaulted them during the trip, according to a 2004 story in The Spokesman-Review.

In part due to the delay, the Washington victims didn’t want to move forward with the case against Bennett, who lived in Spokane Valley at the time, according to the news story.

Nearing’s son was 15 when he was molested by Bennett. The Spokesman-Review typically does not name victims of sexual assault. Nearing and her son do not share a last name.

Charges were filed against Bennett in 2002.

Following his conviction and subsequent sentencing to 20 years in prison, seven of those fixed, court records show Bennett was released on probation in 2013.

He was arrested on a parole violation in early 2014 and served another few years in prison before being released again on parole.

He began working at Lookout Pass in 2017, general manager Brian Bressel said.

“I was not aware of his restrictions or the status of parole but aware of some of the history in the past,” Bressel said.

As part of his parole, Bennett could not leave Idaho without permission or have contact with his victims or their families.

He also was not allowed to work in a position that would bring him into close contact with potential victims or vulnerable populations, among other restrictions.

Since Bennett’s conviction, Nearing has moved out of state and was back visiting her child and grandchildren.

She was shocked to see Bennett with the teen, who turned out to be a legal adult.

After the confrontation with Bennett, Nearing said the teen was crying and shaking.

The Sanders County Sheriff, which responded to the incident at Quinn’s, did not reply to a request for comment.

Nearing called Lookout Pass, upset that Bennett was allowed to work at the ski area and Hiawatha Trail, where families come to recreate and teens often work.

Bressel said Bennett’s parole requirements were between him and his parole officer, but that he had knowledge Bennett was a sex offender.

Bennett’s parole officer did not respond to requests for comment.

The Shoshone County Jail confirmed Bennett was jailed late Tuesday on a felony warrant for a parole violation.

“It shook me to my core to run face to face with this person,” Nearing said. “I’m just devastated. This is my son’s predator. And I told him, ‘No matter where you are, I will always be looking for you.’ ”