DNA from discarded cup leads to Georgia man’s arrest in 1990s sexual assaults in New York

NEW YORK (AP) — A Georgia man accused of sexually assaulting five women during a New York City crime spree in the early 1990s was linked to the cases by DNA authorities obtained from a discarded cup, prosecutors said.

Michael Benjamin, 57, of Conyers, was arraigned Thursday after being extradited to New York and was ordered held without bail due to his high flight risk, prosecutors said.

While officers escorted Benjamin from a New York police station Thursday he told reporters he was innocent of the allegations.

“I didn’t do this! I didn’t do none of this!” he screamed. “What witness? What fingerprints? I didn’t do this!”

The assaults occurred between July 1995 and February 1997, with the attacker entering the residences through a window, prosecutors said. The victims ranged in age from 21 to 42 — including one woman who was assaulted on two separate occasions. Each victim was also robbed of money and valuables.

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.