The Greene County Attorney is commenting on a recent case where a Jefferson man was sentenced to 55 years in prison for sex acts against minors, but it could have potentially been more.

The Jefferson Police Department began an investigation in June of 2022 of whether or not 38-year-old Benjamin Ellingson performed sex acts against two female minors and distributed marijuana to them. In the end, a plea agreement was reached where both Laehn and the defense attorney agreed that Ellingson pled guilty to six felony charges that totaled a maximum of 55 years in prison. Laehn tells Raccoon Valley Radio that even though on the surface this is a victory, there’s still negative impacts in a case like this.

“I never leave feeling as though justice has really been done. We will never get perfect justice in this world. It doesn’t undo the crimes that occurred, it doesn’t reverse history. The victims in these types of cases will have to live with what happened for the rest of their lives, will probably have therapy and counseling the rest of their lives to address the trauma they endured.” 

Laehn says after the initial charges were filed, he always indicts someone aggressively and added some additional charges, where Ellingson was facing life in prison. However, after Laehn consulted with the victims and their attorneys, they felt 55 years in prison was justice and that he offered to take life in prison off the table during plea negotiations, if Ellingson accepted going to prison for 55 years. Laehn applauds the effort of the Jefferson Police Department and the work they did on the case.

“I really commend the Jefferson Police Department. They did a fantastic investigation, accumulated a tremendous amount of evidence. But it was something that the investigation was still ongoing while we were in the prosecution phase of the case. But they did a fantastic job.” 

Another individual involved in the case, 39-year-old Shanda Ellingson was recently found guilty on the trial by the minutes for a Class C Felony for third degree sexual abuse, a Class D Felony for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and an aggravated misdemeanor for child endangerment. She will be sentenced next month.