Sex Offender Wanted After Foss Lake Visit

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January 25, 2022

By News Director Jared Atha

An arrest warrant has been issued in Custer County District Court recently for a convicted aggravated sex offender from Hollis.

According to court records, the warrant for the arrest of 39-year-old Dusty Shane Benavidez was issued on January 10 on one count of a sex offender unlawfully loitering within safety zones or state parks, and another for illegal entry into a state park.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the suspect had allegedly admitted to law enforcement during a July 1, 2021 interview that he was camping at Foss Lake State Park in May of 2021 with a friend and his family.

Among the family were three juveniles.

The affidavit stated that about a month after the suspect’s outing at the state park, OSBI was requested by authorities with the Oklahoma State Park to help investigate a sex offense that allegedly took place while Benavidez was at the lake.

The court document stated that during his stay with the family, he was witnessed to be asleep in the bunk bed area of the camping trailer with the juveniles.

In August 2010, Benavidez pled no contest to second-degree rape and lewd or indecent acts to a child in Harmon County. The female victim there was 14-years-old at the time of that incident.

Bond for the suspect for the latest charges has been set at $15,000.

As of press time, Benavidez has not been arrested.

Copyright 2022 Paragon Communications. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.

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