Authorities Detail Alleged Serial Rapist Kevin Bennett's Month-Plus Of Terror Across Philadelphia, At Least 8 States
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Eyewitness News is digging deeper into the trail of terror blazed by alleged serial rapist Kevin Bennett. Authorities say his crimes may have extended into at least eight other states.
Over a month before seven Philadelphia-area women were stalked -- three of them raped and one assaulted -- a man matching the description of the 28-year-old was put on the FBI's radar.
On April 6, a Tennessee woman was followed home from a Nashville strip club.
"She was assaulted with a handgun, struck over the head and then brutally raped multiple times throughout the night," Mount Juliet Police Capt. Tyler Chandler said.
Police in Mount Juliet, Tennessee realized that this crime matched another rape that had taken place in Indiana the same week.
According to court documents, an Indianapolis woman described being followed home from an adult club by a man who struck her over the head with a pistol before sexually assaulting her.
But there was more.
Tennessee police linked their suspect to several out-of-state retail robberies -- one on April 5 in Mississippi, plus additional crimes in Louisiana and Alabama, and possibly Georgia and Florida. At that point, Mount Juliet police called in the feds.
"It was obvious that there was a suspect out there, a dangerous suspect out there, targetting jewelry stores but also targetting women who worked at adult clubs," Chandler said.
That same pattern then surfaced in Philadelphia from May 15- 18, when seven women, most of whom worked in local strip clubs were preyed on by a man identified as Bennett by Philadelphia authorities.
Bennett was taken into custody in Indianapolis on Saturday.
"He was arrested in possession of two firearms," Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Branwen McNabb said.
That, plus narcotics and jewelry that had gone missing from the Mississippi store, according to the FBI.
Bennett now faces federal gun and drug charges. Local rape and stalking charges await his extradition.
It's an alleged month-and-a-half-long spree that may not have ended without the brave victims coming forward.
"Philadelphia and the surrounding counties are safer today because of their remarkable courage and the exceptional work of law enforcement," McNabb said.
Authorities are asking anyone else who feels they may have been victimized by Bennett to call police.
