Officials in Michigan recently announced that a retired Detroit police sergeant has been charged with multiple counts. This once-respected officer is accused of living a “double life” and, behind the scenes, being a serial rapist involved in a number of disturbing sexual assault cases. The exposure of the truth has shocked the public and sparked heated discussions over law enforcement credibility.
68-year-old Benjamin Wagner faces 14 separate charges, including 8 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and 5 counts of kidnapping. These charges stem from alleged assaults against 5 young women between 1999 and 2003, with the victims ranging in age from 15 to 23.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy stated bluntly about the case: the most regrettable aspect is that the accused was both a law enforcement officer and a serial rapist, living a double life. “These charges are the result of many years of pursuing justice. The facts alleged in this case are disturbing and infuriating.”
Wagner’s assaults were highly targeted. He specifically committed the crimes during early morning hours in Detroit’s northwest area, targeting victims who were walking to school, going home from work, or visiting friends. In each assault, he would quietly approach the victim from behind, point a handgun at them, force them to a secluded location, and sexually assault them without using protection. Notably, the crime scenes were only a few miles from his home.
Wagner had worked in the Detroit Police Department since 1989 and retired in 2017, serving in various units including criminal investigations and tactical services during his tenure.
The breakthrough in the case resulted from a years-long investigation, which started in 2009 when more than 11,000 untested rape kits were discovered in a Detroit police warehouse. The backlog of such kits had been a widespread problem across many areas in the United States, with a large amount of evidence left untouched for years—preventing many sexual assault cases from being solved quickly. Wagner’s case was also significantly delayed due to this.
Earlier this month, Wagner was arrested in Greenville, North Carolina, where he had been living ever since retiring from the Detroit Police Department. After his arrest, Wagner waived his right to extradition and voluntarily went to Michigan to face the related charges. However, since Michigan has a statute of limitations of only six years for such crimes, he will not serve prison time for potential weapons charges related to this case.