DETROIT (WWJ) -- Another young victim has come forward in the case of a former Detroit Police sergeant charged in a series of abductions and rapes. It was a 14-year-old girl attacked while she was walking to the school bus stop.
Benjamin Wagner, 68, now stands accused in a total of six kidnapping and criminal sexual assault cases.
According to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, the victims were 14 to 23 years old at the time of the crimes.
From 1999 through 2017, Wagner is accused of assaulting woman and girls on the northwest side of Detroit, less than six miles away from where he lived.
In all five cases, investigators said Wagner would stop the girls while they were walking, point a gun at them and sexually assault them.
In the new case announced Friday: Prosecutors say on October 15, 2002, in the 15000 block of Trinity Street in Detroit, the victim was walking to catch the bus to school. It is alleged that Wagner approached the teen, pointed a handgun at her, ordered her from the scene, and sexually assaulted her.
In this case, he is charged with one count of Kidnapping, two counts of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, and two counts of Third-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct.
“Our survivor in this case was only 14 years old when Benjamin Wagner allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted her. She is now 37 years old. She has lived with what happened to her for 23 years and has now bravely decided that she wants to be a part of holding him accountable,” said Worthy.
Officials said Wagner was living a double life, as both a criminal and a cop.
“The evidence found in this case concerning former DPD Sergeant, Benjamin Wagner, is egregious and disturbing,” said Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison, in a statement. “It represents a deep betrayal to the oath us officers take as a symbol of public faith, as it violates the trust placed in law enforcement. Mr. Wagner’s actions do not represent the integrity, values or mission held by the officers of the Detroit Police Department.”
Wagner was arrested in in Greenville, North Carolina on March 17 and appeared in Detroit's 36th District Court for his arraignment Thursday morning.
“This case is illustrative of a multi-year journey to justice," Worthy said. "Collaboration, patience, determination, and a focus on our survivors was key here. We are a victim centered, trauma informed, and offender focused office."
Wagner remains jailed without bond, awaiting a Probable Cause Conference set for April 7.
The Detroit Police Department is still looking for others who may be victims of Wagner.
Anyone who was sexually assaulted by Wagner, or who has additional information, is asked to call the DPD Sex Crimes Unit at 313-596-1950 and request to speak with Sergeant Jennifer Carlson.
