Registered sex offender pleads guilty to four felonies, gets six months in county jail

DOVER - A 61-year-old Rochester transient and registered sex offender pleaded guilty on Wednesday to four Class B felonies that could have put him behind bars for decades, but he could serve as little as six months in county jail.
Brian Bentley, formerly of Harrison Avenue in Rochester, pleaded guilty to two thefts and a drug possession charge from 2020 and another theft in 2024.
A fourth theft charge from 2020 was dismissed..
Two of the theft charges that drew multiyear sentences were fully suspended for three years, which means if he stays out of trouble he will serve no further time following his six-months in the Strafford County Jail. He began his stay there following Wednesday's hearing.
The lone charge he drew time on was for a theft out of Dover on Aug. 2, 2020.
Bentley now has more than 40 convictions, including 20 felonies involving crimes for forgery, theft, drug possession and duty to report as a registered sex offender dating back to 1987 when he was convicted of felonious sexual assault.