District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on May 20, 2025, 28-year-old Benjamin Hart was sentenced to 135 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of a young boy from Washington Parish. In April, following a four-day trial, a Washington Parish jury found Hart guilty on charges of Sexual Battery of a Juvenile Under the Age of 13, Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes, and Computer Aided Solicitation of a Juvenile Under the Age of 13. The jury returned its verdict after just 20 minutes of deliberation.
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Judge William H. Burris sentenced Hart to 80 years in prison on the sexual battery charge, 35 years in prison on the trafficking charge and 20 years in prison on the solicitation charge. Judge Burris ordered the three sentences to run consecutive to each other, meaning Hart will be serving a 135-year prison term. Judge Burris also sentenced Hart to six months in jail for Hart’s outburst in the courtroom during which he threatened a prosecutor and swore at the judge.
Assistant District Attorneys Le’Anne Malnar and Zachary Popovich of the Special Victim’s Unit prosecuted the case. Captain Chad Cassard of the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office led the investigation. Hart still faces similar charges in New Hampshire involving six additional victims.
Evidence presented at trial established that Hart met the then 10-year-old boy online in 2020 while playing Xbox. Their communication continued over time and moved to Snapchat, a messaging platform known for automatically deleting content after it is viewed. Hart used the app to send the child a sexually explicit image of himself, resulting in the solicitation charge.
The defendant ultimately convinced the victim to meet in person. The defendant then began traveling from New Hampshire to Washington Parish regularly, where he stayed for extended visits and sexually abused the child repeatedly. Much of the abuse took place inside Hart’s 18-wheeler. Prosecutors showed that from 2020 through 2022, Hart gave the child expensive gifts, including a cell phone, gaming system, and money via mobile payment apps. He then used those gifts as leverage to coerce the child into further sexual acts – conduct that formed the basis of the trafficking charge.
District Attorney Collin Sims urges parents, educators, and community members to be aware of how predators target children through online gaming platforms such as Xbox Live, Minecraft, Roblox, Grand Theft Auto, and others. “This case is a devastating reminder that human trafficking can start in the most seemingly innocent places—like a child’s video game system,” said District Attorney Sims. “When a young child starts missing school or their grades suddenly drop, it should never be ignored. These may be red flags that something much more serious is happening behind the scenes.”
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