Timothy Vess Benton of Fayette appeared in a Tuscaloosa courtroom on Thursday, Oct. 16 for a preliminary hearing after his arrest for a Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) violation. As a result of the hearing, Tuscaloosa District Judge James Gentry ruled that there is probable cause for the case to be presented to a grand jury.
Judge Gentry presided during the hearing after 24th Judicial Circuit Judge Sam Junkin and Fayette County District Judge Merrill Nolen recused themselves from the case.
Benton was indicted on 48 charges in 2017, and pled guilty to two counts of sodomy in 2019. As part of a plea deal, Benton was sentenced to 17 years in prison. He served five and a half years before he was released on house arrest on Aug. 7, 2025.
Benton was arrested on Sept. 4 at his home for the SORNA violation. Following his arrest, 24th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Andy Hamlin filed a motion for Benton to return to the Department of Corrections to serve the remaining time of his sentence for the sodomy charges.
In court on Thursday, Fayette County Sheriff Deputy Jessie Lindsey stated that Benton came to register as a sex offender on the day of his release to house arrest, but that Benton did not provide a valid state-issued I.D. and did not obtain a valid I.D. within a 14 business day period.
Benton’s defense attorney, James Standridge, argued whether Benton fully understood the requirements for obtaining the valid I.D. or the paperwork that was given to Benton from the county regarding his registration as a sex offender.
The Attorney General’s Office served as the prosecution in the case, with Leigh Gwathney representing the state at the hearing.
A grand jury will now decide on the SORNA violation charge against Benton.
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