Person County Sheriff’s Department deputies last February arrested Bennie Barton Roberson, 47, of Asheboro in a sting operation targeting sexual predators.

Roberson, formerly employed with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Asheboro, was taken into custody near the Huck Sansbury Recreation Complex after he reportedly drove to Roxboro to meet the “14-year-old female” he thought he had chatted with online with and sent text messages to via his cell phone. But the teenager actually was a deputy sheriff.

On Jan. 21, Roberson entered a plea of guilty to the felony charge, but Roberson’s sentencing, which was scheduled for Jan. 28, never took place. And as of Friday, no sentencing hearing had been scheduled, according to District Attorney Joel Brewer.

Brewer said Friday that Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith will be “referring the case to another judge.”

Brewer said Smith “wants a different judge to come in and look at it.”

Roberson faces a maximum punishment of 30 months in prison on the charge.

Sentencing specialist Karen Brann, however, recommended six months of intensive probation and Roberson’s participation in a specialized group treatment program. In addition, Brann wrote in a report, Roberson should follow conditions set forth in the state’s sexual offender program.

She added in her report that Roberson “appears to be low-risk for re-offending.

“The main area for concern in this case is the need for close supervision to assure that he complies fully with court-ordered sexual offender counseling and that he obeys the rules and conditions as set forth in the sexual offender control program,” Brann added.

Brann’s report also noted that Roberson has “no prior criminal history” and he “appears remorseful for his actions…accepts responsibility and is willing to participate in court ordered sexual treatment.”

Brann said, however, that Roberson “needs to reduce risk of recidivism by terminating his use of a computer for the period of probation.”

According to Brann’s report, Roberson admitted to “engaging in sexualized chat via the Internet for a period of approximately 10 months to one year prior to his arrest.”

Before he was arrested, Roberson had been employed for 26 years by the USDA. He now reportedly is employed by his brother in the construction business as a superintendent in charge of scheduling subcontractors for housing developments.

Roberson’s arrest last February marked the sixth arrest by sheriff’s deputies on cyber-related offenses extending back to August of 2006.

Two of the five arrested prior to Roberson served short stints in prison, while one was placed on probation for three years. Charges against one of the alleged suspects were dismissed and one of the suspects died before going to trial.

Randall D. Story, 37, of Burlington was charged on Jan. 20, 2007 with felony counts of soliciting a child by a computer and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Story was arrested on Morgan Street as part of a sting scenario similar to the one that led to the charge against Roberson.

Story was convicted in September of last year with the cyber-related crime and served nearly three months in prison before being released on Dec. 10.

David J. McKenzie, 34, of Raleigh, was arrested by sheriff’s deputies on Oct. 24, 2006 on a felony count of soliciting a child by a computer and a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure.

McKenzie was arrested in the parking lot of a Madison Boulevard business after coming to Roxboro expecting to meet a 14-year-old female.

On Oct. 29, 2007, McKenzie received a suspended sentence on the charge and was placed on probation for three years.

One week prior to McKenzie’s arrest in October of 2006, John Ashley Dunn, 42, and his wife Sarah Foster Dunn, 40, of Goldsboro were charged with felony counts of soliciting a child by use of a computer and conspiracy upon their arrest in the parking lot of the same Madison Boulevard business. The couple also reportedly thought they were coming to Roxboro to meet a 14-year-old female.

John Dunn was convicted of the cyber-related offense on March 15, 2007. He served just over two months in prison before being released on May 28, 2007. Charges against Sarah Dunn were dismissed, according to a sheriff’s department investigator.

Matthew Edward Magee of Cary was charged on Aug. 10, 2006 with felony counts of soliciting a child by use of a computer and indecent exposure. Magee, who was arrested in the parking lot of Person High School, died before his case could go to trial.