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A Georgia man has been arrested and charged in connection with a string of rapes and burglaries that terrorized women in southeast Queens in New York state nearly three decades ago.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Michael Benjamin, 57, of Conyers, was arraigned on a 17-count indictment charging him with multiple counts of rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, burglary, and robbery. Investigators say Benjamin allegedly raped five women between 1995 and 1997 in the neighborhoods of Jamaica, St. Albans, Laurelton, and Brookville.
The case broke open after DNA recovered from a discarded cup used by Benjamin inside the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia matched DNA collected from the victims during the original investigations. Benjamin was apprehended in Georgia on Sept. 22 and extradited to New York on Oct. 15.
The four incidents charged in this indictment involve five victims and the following allegations:
- On July 24, 1995, Benjamin broke into the home of victim #1 through a window while she slept. He pulled a sheet over her head, tied the victim up, raped her and fled with her cash and jewelry.
- On Aug. 24, 1996, Benjmain broke into the home of victim #2 while she slept. He placed a jacket over her head and raped her.
- On Sept. 16, 1996, Benjamin approached victim #3 as she walked to her front door. He forced the woman inside her house at gunpoint and threatened to kill her husband and child — who were home — if she did not comply with his demands. Benjmain proceeded to rape the victim before fleeing with cash.
- On Feb. 8, 1997, Benjamin broke into the home of victims #4 and #5 holding a gun. He proceeded to rape the victims and fled the scene with cash and jewelry.
District Attorney Katz said the breakthrough highlights the persistence of law enforcement and the courage of survivors who came forward decades ago.
Benjamin was arrested Sept. 22 in Georgia and extradited to New York on Oct. 15. Benjamin faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top charges.
