Alabama man pleads guilty to filming himself sexually abusing young girl

An Alabama man has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young girl and filming himself during the abuse.

David Ezra Benton, 34, appeared Tuesday before Pike County Circuit Judge Shannon Clark and pleaded guilty to 14 counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12, four counts of first-degree sodomy and 18 counts of production of obscene material, said 12th Judicial Circuit District Attorney James Tarbox.

Benton, initially arrested in 2023, was set to go to trial Wednesday.

Had the case gone to trial, Tarbox said, prosecutors intended to introduce testimony and evidence that showed that in October 2021, Benton was socializing with friends at their home.

Throughout the night, Benton would excuse himself to use the restroom or find some other excuse to enter the home and would actually enter the bedroom of the young girl.

Benton filmed himself sexually abusing the victim on his cell phone, Tarbox said.

The victim and her family agreed to the plea agreement and its terms. Benton was sentenced to 30 years in prison to serve day-for-day with no good time or parole.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation. The Pike Regional Child Advocacy Center, and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office assisted in the investigation and prosecution.

At the time of Benton’s arrest, Sheriff Russell Thomas said, “This was a tough case to work with, to have such a young child and the things that the investigators and in the DA’s office and everyone else had to see and deal with.”

“The victim in this case was prepared to testify and tell her truth about the terrible, vile, and disgusting things that David Benton did to her back in October 2021,” Tarbox said, “ but her preference was to avoid having to do so.”

“I want to thank her for her bravery and thank her and her family for enduring this lengthy legal process with our office,” he said.

“This case has had many well-publicized circumstances and aggravating instances,” the district attorney said. “In the end, Defendant Benton said the words we’ve all been waiting on for four years, ‘Guilty.’”