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Retired Detroit police sergeant charged in connection with string of sexual assaults
Former Detroit police sergeant Benjamin Wagner is back in Michigan and set to be arraigned Thursday on multiple felony counts after allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting girls and young women while he was employed by the department.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A former Detroit police sergeant faced a judge for the first time Thursday, decades after he allegedly kidnapped and raped multiple girls and young women.
Benjanim Wagner, 68, is facing more than a dozen charges, including multiple counts of kidnapping and varying degrees of criminal sexual conduct, for the alleged crimes, which happened in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Wagner was on those charges in Detroit after being extradited to Michigan from North Carolina, where he has been living since retiring from the Detroit Police Department. He was ordered to be held without bond until his next court hearing in April.
Benjamin Wagner during his arraignment
According to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, the alleged sex assaults happened between 1999 and 2003 and involved victims between the ages of 15 and 23. Wagner worked for DPD from 1989 until he retired in 2017.
"The deplorable fact in this case is that the person that we are charging today has led a double life as a law enforcement officer and a serial rapist," Worthy said.
Worthy said these crimes had been under investigation for years, after the five victims' sexual assault kits were found in a Detroit police warehouse in 2009.
Timeline:
According to Worthy, the first case happened on Nov. 10, 1999. The 17-year-old victim was walking in the area of Chalfonte and Mark Twain after work when Wagner allegedly pointed a gun at her, ordered her from the scene, and sexually assaulted her.
The second crime happened on Jan. 31, 2000, when Wagner allegedly pointed a gun at a 23-year-old victim's head in the 18400 block of Wyoming, ordered her away from the area, and sexually assaulted her.
On Sept. 28 of that same year, Wagner allegedly assaulted another victim in the 19800 block of Florence. In this case, he is accused of grabbing the 15-year-old victim as she walked to a school bus stop. Worthy said Wagner pointed a gun at her face, took her from the scene, and sexually assaulted her.
'Led a double life': Retired Detroit police sergeant accused of kidnapping and raping victims while cop
A retired Detroit police sergeant allegedly led a double life that involved kidnapping and raping multiple victims while he worked for the department in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Another victim was sexually assaulted on Nov. 19, 2000, when a 20-year-old woman walking to a friend's home in the 8500 block of West McNichols was allegedly attacked from behind by Wagner. Worthy said Wagner held a gun to the victim's back, took her to another area, and sexually assaulted her.
The final crime that Wagner has been charged with occurred on April 15, 2003, when Wagner allegedly emerged from an alley and kidnapped a 16-year-old girl as she walked to a school bus stop in the 19000 block of Ferguson. Like the other victims, Worthy said she was brought to another location and sexually assaulted by Wagner, who also allegedly had a handgun.
It is unclear if Wagner had any contact with the victims while he was on duty.
What you can do:
If you believe you have been a victim of Wagner, contact Detroit police at 313-596-1950.
The Source: Previous reporting was used in this story.
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