Decorated Detroit police sergeant led ‘double life’ as serial rapist in disturbing case: prosecutor

Officials in Michigan recently announced a slew of horrifying charges against a retired Detroit police sergeant accused of living a “double life” as a serial rapist.

Benjamin Wagner, 68, is facing 14 separate charges, including eight counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and five counts of kidnapping, stemming from alleged assaults against five young women and girls between 1999 and 2003. 

The victims ranged in age from 15 to 23 years old.

“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,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. “… These charges are a culmination of a multi-year journey to justice. The alleged facts in this case are disturbing, unsettling and infuriating.”

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Authorities said Wagner targeted victims during the early morning hours on Detroit’s northwest side while they were walking to school, home from work, or visiting friends. 

In each attack, he allegedly approached the victims from behind, pointed a pistol at them, forced them to an isolated location, and sexually assaulted them without a condom, according to Worthy.

The attacks happened just miles from his home, though officials denied his house being the “isolated location” the victims were brought to.

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Wagner served with the Detroit Police Department (DPD) from 1989 until he retired with commendations in 2017, working in various units including criminal investigations and tactical services. 

The breakthrough in the case was the result of a multi-year investigation connected to the 2009 discovery of more than 11,000 untested sexual assault kits abandoned in a DPD warehouse. 

Wagner was arrested earlier this month in Greenville, North Carolina — where he had been living since he left the department, and waived extradition to face charges in Michigan.

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He will not face time for potential weapons charges associated with the case, as the statute of limitations for that crime in Michigan is only six years.

The five victims who joined the case promptly reported the crimes when they happened and had sexual assault kits collected at that time.

Officials urged any other potential victims who may have been assaulted by Wagner to contact the Detroit Police Department’s Sex Crimes Unit, noting cases may have gone unreported.

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Worthy did not confirm if Wagner had any contact with the victims while he was on duty, or had ever been the subject of internal affairs investigations or other criminal allegations during his career.