Biden Judicial Nominee Gave Only Probation to Convicted Sex Offender

Senate Judiciary Committee/Family Watchdog
SJC/Family Watchdog

One of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees sentenced a convicted sex offender to just three years of probation after he pleaded guilty to child pornography possession.

Last month, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge DeAndrea G. Benjamin presided over a child sexual exploitation case involving 34-year-old David Austin Gillespie, who was arrested in 2015 on 11 counts of possessing and sending child pornography via file sharing.

Gillespie entered a guilty plea before Benjamin who then sentenced him to eight years in prison, suspended to only three years of probation. Gillespie, as part of his plea deal, was required to register as a sex offender.

The case comes to light as Biden has nominated Benjamin to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Benjamin’s nomination in a 13 to 9 vote.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) joined 11 Democrats to approve Benjamin’s nomination to the appellate court.

In another case raised by Republicans on the committee, Benjamin granted bail to a murder suspect after he spent two years in jail without bail and claimed that his right to a speedy trial had been denied.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.

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