Philly DA to charge 28-year-old with rape and robbery following string of sexual assaults

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office will charge a 28-year-old man with rape, robbery, and stalking in connection with a series of sexual assaults and attempted attacks he allegedly perpetrated over the course of four days this month.

Kevin Bennett, 28, is now suspected of sexual assault in at least eight states, including Indiana, where police arrested him on Saturday afternoon. He is currently in the custody of the Marion County Sheriffs in Indianapolis following an investigation involving the Philadelphia Police Department, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and the FBI.

“This is a predatory rapist,” said Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner during a news conference on Monday.

Bennet was arrested after allegedly raping three women at gunpoint in Philadelphia between May 15 and May 18. He is accused of stalking a total of seven women during that stretch, including two who work in Philadelphia but live in Delaware and Montgomery counties.

Police did not release the names of the victims.

It’s unclear why Bennet, a convicted felon, was in Philadelphia or whether he has any ties to the area. Krasner said Monday there is no timeline for when Bennett will be extradited to Philadelphia and charged locally.

“That is rather difficult to say,” said Krasner. “There is always the distinct possibility that this man will be prosecuted in Indiana first.”

Police have tied Bennet to six separate incidents over the course of four days.

At around 2:45 a.m. on May 15, Bennett allegedly followed a bartender at the Sin City Cabaret Night Club in South Philadelphia to her home in Media in Delaware County. Police say the woman’s boyfriend was home at the time and that Bennett fled in a grey Dodge Charger.

Less than 24 hours later, Bennett allegedly followed a woman as she drove towards her home in West Norriton Township in Montgomery County. This after leaving Delilah’s, a gentleman’s club near Northern Liberties, around midnight.

Police say the woman pulled into a Wawa parking lot to try to get Benett’s vehicle tag after trying to evade his car. The tag was covered, so she called 911 and filed a report with the West Norriton Township Police Department, according to police.

“[She] was later able to identify Bennett as the man following her,” said Assistant District Attorney Branwen McNabb.

At approximately 5 a.m. on May 16, police say a woman was seated in her car on the 1100 block of West Ontario Street in North Philadelphia, when she noticed a man exit a vehicle parked several cars ahead of her. The man approached her, pointed a silver handgun at her and demanded she get out of her car. The man then moved her to an alley and sexually assaulted her, according to police.

On May 17, at approximately 9:30 p.m., police say a fourth woman left her job at The Oasis, a nightclub in Southwest Philadelphia, and drove home to her apartment near Center City. Bennett, driving the Dodge Charger, allegedly followed the woman through the complex’s security gate to the third floor of a parking garage.

“The male operating that Dodge Charger exited his vehicle, at which time the complainant left the garage and called 911,” said McNabb.

Around midnight on May 18, Bennett allegedly followed a woman to the 900 block of N. 8th Street in Poplar after she left Cheerleaders, a gentleman’s club in South Philadelphia. Police say the woman screamed after spotting Bennett and ran into a neighbor’s apartment.

Bennett fled. Police recovered surveillance footage showing the Dodge Charger, without tags, parked in front of the woman’s building.

Later the same morning, Bennett allegedly returned to the apartment complex. Police say he posed as an electrical worker to gain access to the woman’s apartment. Once inside, he produced a silver handgun, then sexually assaulted and robbed her roommates.

“While the offender was inside of the apartment, the women recognized him from being inside Cheerleaders the night before. And they were able to identify him to police in the course of the investigation,” said McNabb.

Bennett was in possession of two firearms when he was arrested on Saturday, including one that matched the description of the gun used between May 15 and May 18.

Captain Mark Burgmann, who leads the Special Victims Unit of the Philadelphia Police Department, said Monday that Bennett was not driving the Dodge Charger at the time of his arrest, adding that this was a “textbook case.”

“I’m sure he was surprised, frankly, when he was taken into custody,” said Burgmann.

Authorities in Philadelphia have not interviewed Bennett yet.