Former Clay County Deputy Jailer Arrested for Alleged Felony Sex-Crimes Involving Minors

Samuel Bennett was formerly employed as a deputy jailer at the Clay County Detention Center in Manchester, Kentucky. Public and community records indicate he lost his job amidst a child sexual abuse investigation and was later arrested in July 2026 on multiple felony sex-crime charges involving minors.

Bennett was already facing child molestation charges and has been indicted a second time by a Clay County grand jury on additional allegations involving multiple juvenile victims spanning more than two decades.

Samuel Bennett, 43, of Shibb Branch, was named in a new indictment returned July 7, charging him with multiple felony offenses, including unlawful transaction with a minor, first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree sodomy.

According to the indictment, Bennett is accused of committing first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor involving a victim younger than 16 during April 2026. He is also charged with first-degree sexual abuse, alleging he engaged in sexual contact with the same juvenile by forcible compulsion.

The indictment further alleges Bennett committed another count of first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor involving a different victim under the age of 16 between 2017 and 2019.
In addition, Bennett was indicted on two counts of first-degree sodomy, alleging he engaged in deviate sexual intercourse with another victim who was younger than 12 years old at the time of the alleged offenses in or about 2001.

The latest indictment follows a separate grand jury indictment returned in June 2026, in which Bennett was charged with first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor involving an illegal sexual act and first-degree sexual abuse. In that case, prosecutors allege Bennett offered money to a juvenile younger than 16 in exchange for illegal sexual contact and engaged in sexual contact with the minor.
Following the June indictment, Bennett was released from custody after posting bond.

Court records indicate Bennett was again lodged in the Knox County Detention Center following the latest indictment. He was subsequently released after posting a $160,000 bond, requiring $16,000 cash.
The investigation remains ongoing.

An indictment is a formal accusation and is not evidence of guilt. Bennett is presumed innocent until provided due process and proven guilty in a court of law.