Born and raised in Franklin County, Ben graduated with honors from Chambersburg Area Senior High School where he played basketball and lacrosse and was a captain on both teams. Out of high school, he attended Shippensburg University where he earned a bachelor of science in history. While attending classes at Shippensburg, Ben worked for Keystone Human Services of Central Pennsylvania as a community service associate. In 2011, Ben began his career with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, graduating from the Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Academy with honors that same year.
While employed as a deputy, Ben completed every task that a deputy sheriff could possibly be assigned to, and has served on/with the United States Marshal Task Force and Franklin County Drug Task Force. Ben is an in-house instructor for many different law enforcement related topics. Ben was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2014, where he supervised office field operations, property and evidence, and in-house training.
In 2018, Ben graduated from Shippensburg University with a master of public administration. Ben considers himself a student of the craft of law enforcement, ever eager to learn as much about any topic involving government and law enforcement as possible, and has had two professional articles published; one by Calibre Press and one by Law Officer. In 2020, Ben was promoted to the position of chief deputy sheriff where he oversees all aspects of the Sheriff’s Office, which encompasses 52 staff.
Ben participates on numerous county and state-wide committees such as the STOP grant, CJAB, First Contact, training work groups, and the County Wellness Committee.
When not working, Ben loves to engage himself in community events. Ben is a member of the Board of Directors at the Chambersburg YMCA, Franklin County Public Safety Training Board, and Friends of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Ben enjoys hunting, fishing, mountain-biking, and spending time with friends and family. Ben currently lives in Chambersburg and is married to Hilary (Addleman) Sites, with whom he has two children.
In 2014, Ben was hired by the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute and became an instructor at the Pennsylvania Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff Academy, as well as an adjunct for Penn State’s Criminal Justice Professional Training group.
In recent years, Ben has worked to design curriculum for Temple University. In this role, he serves as a consultant and subject-matter expert in the design and implementation of deputies' yearly update training.
Ben has enjoyed serving this community over the past 13 years, and looks to continue that service as the current Sheriff of Franklin County, Pennsylvania.