The hunt for a serial rapist stretches from the city to suburbs and beyond as the FBI, city and suburban police in Montgomery and Delaware counties all try to find the man before he strikes again. NBC10’s Deanna Durante has the details.
UPDATE: Bennett was arrested in Indiana, police confirmed with NBC10. Newest details here.
A woman who believes she was stalked by a man wanted in three sexual assaults said she only narrowly escaped him last Friday.
"I feel horrible for other victims," she told NBC10 in an interview. She added that once she saw the surveillance video emerge this week, "I knew it was him."
Police are searching for a suspect who they believe sexually assaulted and stalked several women in the Philadelphia area and tried to kidnap a woman at gunpoint at a King of Prussia hotel over the last week.
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UPDATE: On Friday evening, Philadelphia police identified the suspect as Kevin Bennett, 28, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Bennett may be operating a gray Dodge Charger SXT, with Indiana tags 471A549, police said.
Bennett is wanted on rape and related charges. Anyone with information about Bennett is asked to contact the city's Special Victims Unit at (215)685-3264.
The majority of the victims were employees at various gentlemen's clubs throughout Philadelphia, police said.
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The first incident occurred on May 15 at 2:45 a.m. A bartender left Sin City, a club on the 6100 block of Passyunk Avenue, and was followed by a man driving a silver Dodge Charger all the way to her home in Media, Pennsylvania. Police said the bartender’s boyfriend was home at the time and the driver fled the scene.
A witness from the club said the Charger had no visible tag.
On May 16 around midnight, a woman left Delilah's, a gentlemen’s club on the 100 block of Spring Garden and drove to her home in West Norriton Township, Pennsylvania. At some point she noticed a grey Dodge Charger that was following her. She tried to evade the vehicle by making several turns and eventually went to a Wawa store in order to get the Charger’s vehicle tag. She noticed the tag was covered however. The woman then called 911 and filed a report with West Norriton Police.
Hours later, at 5 a.m., a woman was sitting inside her vehicle on the 3400 block of North 11th Street when she noticed a man exit a vehicle that was parked several cars ahead of her. The man approached her, pointed a silver handgun at her and demanded she exit the car. He then moved her to an alley and raped her, police said. The suspect in the incident was described as a stocky Black male with braids wearing all black clothing. Police also said he was driving a grey Dodge Charger with tinted windows and no tag.
On May 17 at 9:30 p.m., a woman left her job at Oasis Club on 6700 Essington Avenue and drove to her home on the 1500 block of Hamilton Street. When she entered her apartment parking garage she noticed a grey Dodge Charger that piggybacked the security gate opening and followed her vehicle.
The woman then continued driving to the third level as the Charger parked three cars from her. The driver then got out and started walking around before the woman exited the garage and called 911. The suspect in that incident matched the description of the sex assault suspect and was also in a grey Dodge Charger with no tag.
On May 18, a woman left a gentlemen’s club on 2700 Front Street and returned to her apartment on the 900 block of North 8th Street at midnight when she noticed a man in her apartment complex. The man slid along the wall towards the woman who then ran away to a neighbor’s apartment while screaming. The man then fled the scene. Once again, the man was driving a Grey Dodge Charger with no tag.
Several hours later at 10:20 a.m., two women were inside their apartment on the 900 block of North 8th Street when a man posing as an electrical worker gained access into their home. The man then pulled out a handgun, sexually assaulted and robbed both women, police said. He then fled southbound on 8th Street toward Poplar Street.
Both victims were employees at Cheerleaders Philadelphia, a gentlemen's club.
The suspect was described as a Black male with a chunky build between his mid-20’s and early 30’s standing between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-7 wearing long dreadlocks and multi-colored clothing. Once again he was driving a silver or grey Dodge Charger with tinted windows and no tag.
Thursday night, police confirmed with NBC10 they believe the same suspect also tried to kidnap a woman at a hotel in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
On Tuesday, shortly before 4 p.m., police responded to the Crowne Plaza Hotel on 260 Mall Boulevard. They were met by a woman in the hotel lobby who was suffering from a head wound.
The woman told police she had been working out in the hotel fitness room when she was approached by a man who pulled out a gun and demanded that she leave with him.
The woman refused and started to run for the door when the man struck her in the head with the gun. The woman was eventually able to escape and ran to the lobby for help. The man was last seen running out of the lobby doors of the hotel.
The suspect's description matched the descriptions in the Philadelphia incidents, according to police. Police also said the man was driving the gray Dodge Charger with no license plate.
If you have any information on the suspect's identity, please call Philadelphia police or Upper Merion Township Police at 610-265-3232.
