Steven Bennof

> "You like getting fucked in the ass?"
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>

>  - Steven's go to pick up line
>
>

**Steven Mark Bennof** is a suspected predator and former special education teacher caught in the Suburban Washington, D.C. edition of **To Catch A Predator**. Biography

## Biography

Before getting caught in the sting, Steven Mark Bennof was a married man who worked as a special education teacher at Woodridge Elementary School. 54-year-old Steven began communicating online with a Perverted Justice decoy who was impersonating a thirteen-year-old boy named "Brandon." He lied about his age, claiming to be 48. Steven repeatedly tried to modify the decoy's age to 23 when they said they were thirteen. The decoy said his profile said that he was thirteen and then mentioned that he enjoys dressing up in girly attire. Steven stated he was a "cute boy" but looked like a "cuter girl."

Steven immediately enquired about the decoy's boyfriend after hearing that he had an adult partner and what they did together. Later, Steven requested that the boy allow him to perform oral and anal intercourse on him. Steven offered to purchase the teenager girl clothes. He then confessed being married and warned the boy to keep their sexual liaison a secret. Additionally, Steven acknowledged that they would have to meet up when his wife was at work because she didn't know he loved guys. When the decoy said he had to log off, Steven stated he wanted to meet and that he already liked him. Before ending the conversation, Steven wanted reassurances that the his father would be out of town during their sexual encounters.

## Sting

On August 17, 2005, Steven entered the sting house in a relaxed and joyful mindset. Del Harvey, posing as the teenage boy, talks to Steven from another room. The two share conversation before Chris Hansen enters the room and tells Steven to take a seat. Chris asked Steven how old the person he had come to see was, and Steven said that they were 23. He then immediately asked Chris to identify himself. Chris ignores his question, and displays the chat log to him where the boy stated he was thirteen. Steven pretended to be surprised while smugly asserting that the boy had not stated that he was a child. Chris reads aloud Steven's sexually explicit internet communication, at which point Steven said he "obviously made a big mistake."

Steven then claimed it was his first time meeting a child for sex online. He admits he was a special education teacher when Chris asked about his occupation. Steven goes backing to claiming that the boy said he was 23. Chris, not buying his excuses, tells him he has seen and read the whole chatlog. Steven continued to deny not knowing the boy was thirteen. When asked if he brought condoms, Steven confesses that he did and takes them out of his pocket. Like most child sex predators, Steven claimed he always carried them around with him. After Chris queried his motives, Steven demanded to know who he was. Chris reveals that he is with Dateline NBC and that they're doing a story on computer predators. Steven angrily shakes his head then gets up from the stool and walks out of the sting house.

## Aftermath and sentence 2022 update

Following Steven's appearance in the sting, Fairfax County police notified Woodridge Elementary School officials about "information relating to children." Steven was later fired on August 23, 2005. He was then arrested and on July 19, 2006, Steven pleaded guilty to a federal count of coercing a minor to engage in prostitution. On October 20, 2006, U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema sentenced Steven to five years in federal prison, ten years of supervised probation, lifetime registration as a sex offender, and various fines. He was released from prison on October 28, 2010.. In a podcast in 2022 Chris Hansen stated he could not find any evidence that Steven has reoffended. Chris says that Steven has been living a pretty low-key life and his most recent thing Chris could find was Bennof singing in 2019. As of October 2022, Steven lives in Maryland as a tier 2 sex offender.

## Trivia

* In Season 11 Episode 08 of South Park, the episode has a segment based on **To Catch a Predator,** where multiple predators kill themselves upon meeting Chris Hansen. One of the predators in the episode shares a striking resemblance to Steven.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2005/11/04/rabbi-teacher-lose-jobs-after-taping/ae7f7ccc-2eb9-4a58-93fc-fa22d7b272ab/
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://www.justice.gov/psc/docs/Bennof\_102006.pdf
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://www.icrimewatch.net/offenderdetails.php?OfndrID=8449036&AgencyID=56638&x=9ce6bccb-fe49-478f-847e-2112e7a97197
4. ↑ http://www.perverted-justice.com/?con=Crazy4theNATS