Bennett Haeberle is an investigative reporter with NBC 5 Investigates. He joins NBC Chicago after most recently serving as Chief Investigative Reporter at WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio.
Prior to that, Bennett was an investigative reporter and fill-in anchor at WISH-TV in Indianapolis. He also spent 10 years reporting and anchoring the news in his home state of Kentucky, working at both WDRB-TV in Louisville and WTVQ-TV in Lexington.
Bennett is most proud of his investigative stories that have been credited with effecting change. His years’ worth of reporting on the abuse of Ohio children in congregate care facilities led to increased inspections - and later - the closure of one troubled facility. Child advocates have cited his work in a national campaign, which later served as a backbone for legislation being considered in Congress that would extend protections to those in care.
His reporting on failures within the Ohio parole system helped exposed how the state failed to adequately track ex-prisoners even while they were wearing GPS monitors. The reporting by Bennett and his colleagues led to a governor's task force being formed to investigate the inadequacies. State lawmakers also changed state law to create tougher sentencing guidelines for people convicted of violent crimes.
Bennett has been honored with two National Headliner Awards, several regional Emmys and a regional Edward R. Murrow award. He was also part of a news team honored with a National Edward R. Murrow for spot news for reporting on a commercial plane crash.
Bennett holds a B.A. in journalism and history from Indiana University.
When he's not reporting, you can find Bennett spending time with his family and friends – and probably running, swimming or cycling. He most recently qualified for and completed the Boston Marathon. He looks forward to qualifying for more.
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Bennett has friends and family here in the Chicago area.
He and his wife Sarah have two daughters. They look forward to exploring all Chicago has to offer and becoming part of the community.
If you have an investigative story idea, you can email Bennett at bennett.haeberle@nbcuni.com or Facebook.com/BennettHaeberle-reporter
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Illinois budget includes $20M aimed at repairing cuts to sexual assault crisis services
When state lawmakers in Springfield approved a spending plan in the wee hours of the morning this week, it included a $20 million injection of funds meant to shore up federal cuts that led to layoffs and forced rape crisis centers across Illinois to close.
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Chicago's sex crime conviction rate among worst of major U.S. cities
An unprecedented investigation by NBC 5 Investigates found sexual assault cases in Chicago rarely led to an arrest and almost never led to a sex crime conviction with prison time, according to our review of more than 21,000 reported sex crime complaints in Chicago.
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Racial disparities and the difficulty of prosecuting sexual assault cases
As part of NBC 5 Investigates and Telemundo Chicago’s six-month investigation, our team explored a racial disparity among victims and why these cases can be hard to prosecute.
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Thousands of sexual assault cases die each year inside Chicago's justice system
NBC 5 Investigates conducted a six-month investigation that found sexual assault charges were never filed or were dropped in favor of non-sex charges time and time again. Find our extensive “Dismissed” series here. Trigger warning: the following investigative reports discuss issues of sexual violence. After it was over, she had a rape kit collected but waited to tell the police….
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Dismissed: A 6-month investigation of Chicago sex crime arrests & convictions
NBC 5 Investigates spent six months reviewing police records and examining court documents to find out how often allegations involving sex are never charged, never tried or simply disappear.
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Dismissed: Behind the NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago investigation
NBC 5 Investigates – along with Telemundo Chicago Investiga – spent six months looking at every account of sexual assault, sexual abuse, incest, child pornography, sex trafficking and other sex crimes documented on the Chicago police crime database.
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Suspect charged in killing of Chicago police officer faces additional charges
The suspect charged with the first-degree murder of Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca faces additional charges of aggravated vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen firearm, Chicago police announced Thursday afternoon.
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Police recover Officer Luis Huesca's firearm, continue search for suspect
As fellow officers, family and community members gathered Monday at the funeral for slain Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca, Superintendent Larry Snelling confirmed that officers had recovered Huesca’s service weapon and promised to “get justice” his family. “Our Detective Division, our officers are working, they have not stopped working since this happened,” he told reporters Monday afternoon. And there...
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Report: Slain Chicago police officer sustained gunshot wound to face; SUV stolen and recovered
When Chicago police officers discovered fellow off-duty Officer Luis Huesca shot early Sunday morning, the officer’s glasses and cell phone were found next to him – but his grey Toyota SUV wasn’t.