NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities have tied a Georgia resident to a series of sexual assaults that terrorized New York City in the early 1990s, thanks to DNA evidence from a cup he discarded. This breakthrough has led to charges against Michael Benjamin, 57, from Conyers.
Benjamin was extradited to New York and faced arraignment on Thursday, where the court deemed him a significant flight risk and denied bail, according to the prosecution.
As Benjamin was led out of a New York police station, he vociferously maintained his innocence to reporters, asserting, “I didn’t do this! I didn’t do none of this!” He challenged the evidence, asking, “What witness? What fingerprints? I didn’t do this!”
The string of assaults spanned from July 1995 to February 1997, with the perpetrator gaining access to homes through windows, prosecutors explained. The victims, aged 21 to 42, included a woman who was attacked twice. In addition to the assaults, the assailant stole cash and valuables from each victim.
The crucial link to Benjamin was made last year when DNA from a cup he discarded at the Rockdale County Sheriff’s office was tested. This DNA matched samples collected during the original investigations of the assaults, prosecutors revealed.
Benjamin was linked to the assaults by DNA obtained last year from a discarded cup he had used inside the Rockdale County Sheriff’s office, prosecutors said. It was submitted for testing and matched DNA retrieved at the time the assaults occurred.
Benjamin was arrested in Georgia on Sept. 22 and extradited to New York on Tuesday. He faces 17 counts, including sexual assault and burglary charges.
“Although decades have passed, these cold cases were not forgotten,” Queens County District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “It is never too late for justice.”
Benjamin’s lawyer, Joseph Amsel, said his client “vigorously, vehemently and vociferously” denies the charges. “Most of these charges are outside of the statute of limitations,” Amsel said.
