NC airport worker was a ‘serial rapist’ while working for Detroit police, report says

A former Detroit police sergeant found working at a North Carolina airport spent years leading a double life as a “serial rapist” in Michigan, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office in Detroit.

Benjamin Wagner, 68, was arrested Tuesday “at his place of employment at the Pitt-Greenville Airport,” according to a news release posted March 19 by the Greenville Police Department in eastern North Carolina. Greenville is about an 80-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh.

“Wagner, a current airline employee and former Detroit Police Department sergeant, is wanted in Michigan in connection with multiple sexual assault investigations dating back to the late 1990s and early 2000s,” Greenville police said in a Facebook post.

“At this time, we have no information to suggest Wagner was involved in any criminal activity in Greenville. He has not been connected to any local cases, and his DNA has not matched any cases in our system. We understand the nature of these allegations may raise concerns in our community.”

Wagner waived extradition and agreed to be transferred back to Michigan to face the accusations, officials said.

Details of the case were released Thursday at a new conference staged in Detroit by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who referred to Wagner as a “serial rapist.”

Wagner is being charged in five kidnapping and criminal sexual assault felony cases, all of which happened in Detroit, officials said.

Worthy called the details “disturbing, unsettling and infuriating.”

“Our survivors were between the ages of 15 and 23 when they were attacked and sexually assaulted. This case is especially disturbing to us because the evidence will show that a then Detroit police officer is the rapist of the young women and girls in the cases,” Worthy said in a news release.

Wagner worked at the Detroit Police Department from 1989 through 2017, starting as a police officer and rising to the rank of sergeant, investigators said.

He retired in 2017 and moved to North Carolina, prosecutors say. Details of his job at the Pitt-Greenville Airport were not released.

“While employed as a law enforcement officer, Wagner led a double life. It is alleged that he sexually assaulted young women and girls on the northwest side of Detroit,” prosecutors said in the release.

“At the time of the assaults, the defendant lived on Bentler Street. All of the assaults took place within approximately 5.5 miles from his Detroit home.”

Michigan State Police established a link between the five assaults in 2010, but it wasn’t until August 2023 that the FBI Detroit Field Office developed a lead that tied Wagner to the attacks, officials said.

Following are summaries of the five cases and charges:

1) A 17-year-old female attacked at Chalfonte and Mark Twain streets

“On November 10, 1999, after her work shift ended, the victim took a bus to a stop near the home of a friend and began walking. It is alleged that the defendant approached her, pointed a gun at her, ordered her from the scene, and sexually assaulted her,” officials say.

Wagner has been charged with one count of kidnapping, one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the case, prosecutors said.

2) A 23-year-old female attacked in the 18400 Block of Wyoming Avenue

“On January 31, 2000, the victim left her home to go to the store. As she was walking, it is alleged that Defendant Wagner walked toward her quickly and pointed a gun at her head. It is then alleged he ordered her from the scene and sexually assaulted her,” officials say.

Wagner is charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the case, officials said.

3) A 15-year-old girl attacked in the 19800 Block of Florence Street

“On September 28, 2000, the victim was on her way to school. As she was walking towards a bus stop, it is alleged that Defendant Wagner grabbed her arm and put a gun in her face. It is then alleged that he ordered her to move from the scene and sexually assaulted her,” officials say.

Wagner is charged with one count of kidnapping, one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in the case, officials said.

4) A 20-year-old woman attacked in 8500 Block of W. McNichols Road

“On November 19, 2000, the victim was walking from her friend’s home. It is alleged that Defendant Wagner walked past her and later attacked her from behind and put a gun to her back. It is further alleged that he removed her from the scene and sexually assaulted her,” officials said.

Wagner is charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the case, officials said.

5) A 16-year-old girl attacked in the 19000 Block of Ferguson Street

“On April 15, 2003, the victim was walking to a bus stop to catch a bus to school. It is alleged that Defendant Wagner approached her after he came out of an alley and removed her from the scene. It is further alleged that he produced a handgun and sexually assaulted her,” officials said.

Wagner has been charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the case, officials said.

A handgun is alleged to have been used in all the attacks, but felony firearm offenses have a six-year statute of limitations, officials said.

This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 1:38 PM.