Snatched Iowa Girl Found Dead

Police have charged a family friend with abducting a 10-year-old girl who was found strangled in an abandoned mobile home.

Police say Roger P. Bentley, a 37-year-old registered sex offender, snatched Jetseta Gage as he was repairing her mother's van.

Bentley's brother James, 33, a former boyfriend of the child's mother, was arrested in November and charged with molesting Jetseta for a year, reports Iowa's KCCI-TV.

Trena Gage, who was away at the time taking a college course, said her 7-year-old son saw Bentley leave in his pickup with Jetseta. The children's grandmother also was at home.

"My mom gave my daughter her medicine and sent her to bed," Gage told KCRG-TV. "My son said he saw my daughter in the truck and he thought that she had permission" because the family have "known him for so long." She said she did not know he had been convicted of child molestation. "He just came over to my house - helped me work on my cars. I don't have the money, I'm a single parent, a full time student working full time," she said in the interview.

Gage said her mother later went to check on the child and she was gone. "She looked all over the house and she called me hysterical," Gage said.

Jetseta was born with physical and mental limitations and couldn't attend traditional schools, KCRG-TV reports. She suffered from spina bifida and a thyroid problem.

Teachers says Jetseta had problems paying attention and behavioral issues, and reportedly made friends with adults because she had few friends her age, The DesMoines Register reports.

Roger Bentley made an initial court appearance Saturday in Linn County District Court on one count of child stealing. Additional charges could be filed by Monday, authorities said. He is being held in lieu of a $1 million bond.

Roger Bentley has been cited for 25 minor infractions over the past eight years, such as supplying a minor with tobacco and driving without a license, the DesMoines Register reports.

Since 1996, his brother James has been cited for at least 30 traffic violations, made numerous appearances in small claims court, and been judged delinquent in paying child support.

He is in jail awaiting a May 31 trial on second-degree sexual abuse charges, the Register reports.