Businessman gets 15 years for sexually assaulting 19yearold employee after firing her
Apr 01, 2025
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A former Virginia Beach businessman who was convicted of sexual assault was sentenced to 15 years in prison today.
According to a release from the Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, Benjamin Young, 45, was sentenced on charges of Forcible Sodomy and Ob
ject Sexual Penetration. Young was convicted of these charges after a jury trial that concluded on June 13, 2024.
According to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, evidence proved that in August 2022, Young hired the 19-year-old victim to work for his HVAC company, Hybrid Air.
Young knew the victim from her previous job at a golf and yacht club, where Young frequently played golf. Young's company began having financial trouble, and Young fired the victim within days of her time at Hybrid Air. He told her to come pick up her check a few days later, and she did so on Aug. 16, 2022. Before her arrival, Young retrieved her paycheck from the receptionist window in the lobby and took it to his office.
When the victim arrived, Young brought her into his office to talk. After some small talk about the gym and body building, Young asked her if he could massage her leg. After massaging her leg and thigh, he sexually assaulted her.
When the victim attempted to leave, she found the door was locked with a key code. Young told her, “We should keep this between us,” before opening the door to the lobby and following her out to her car.
Immediately after leaving the lobby, the victim called a friend and reported the assault before reporting it to her stepfather, who is a police officer, and her mother.
She went to the Virginia Beach Detective Bureau to make a report and then underwent a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) exam. Samples were taken from her body and submitted to the Department of Forensic Science for analysis, and Young’s DNA was a match to the samples taken from the victim’s body.
Young was sentenced to 60 years in prison with 45 years suspended, leaving 15 years to serve. He must also register as a sex offender, undergo sex offender treatment, and remain on good behavior for 45 years. ...read more read less
