TOWANDA, Pa. (WETM) — A Towanda man is in jail following an arrest by Pennsylvania State Police for charges involving the rape of a minor, and other sexual assault charges, over a span of three years, state police say.
According to state police, 28-year-old Dusty Lee Benjamin was arrested on January 26, 2023, and is facing 10 felony charges and two misdemeanor charges for events against a minor occurring from January 1, 2019, to November 11, 2022.
Benjamin is facing charges of Rape by Forcible Compulsion in the first degree, Rape of an Unconscious Victim in the first degree, In Deviant Sexual Intercourse by Forcible Compulsion in the first degree, Sexual Assault in the second degree, Statutory Sexual Assault in the first degree, Child Pornography in the third degree, among other charges.
According to the affidavit, police were notified of the situation through a report of suspected child abuse in that Benjamin was reported to have sexually assaulted a minor.
An interview was conducted with the victim on January 11, 2023, where she told police the events that took place between herself and Benjamin.
The affidavit says the assaults occurred when the victim was between 13-16 years old and Benjamin was 24-28 years old at the time. Benjamin is claimed to have started the grooming at a residence in Wyalusing, Pa., and committed multiple sexual acts against the victim, including rape.
The affidavit continued by saying how Benjamin eventually got an apartment in Towanda where the abuse continued there. The document claims that Benjamin would get the victim drunk around the age of 14 and perform numerous sexual acts on the victim while she was intoxicated.
The document says that Benjamin would buy the victim alcohol, marijuana, pizza, and other goods in exchange for sexual favors, and other acts against her will.
The victim reported that in the summer of 2022, they were having sex daily and that in September/October of 2022, Benjamin wouldn’t let the victim leave his apartment unless she had sex with him, Benjamin is claimed to have used force on multiple occasions to get his way in order for the victim to leave his apartment.
The document says a medical examination was conducted on the victim and during the examination, a nurse found “D.B.”, Benjamin’s initials, tattooed on her vagina, the victim told police that Benjamin put it there against her will.
The victim’s phone was turned over to police where sexually explicit images and text messages were documented from Benjamin to the victim, it was found that Benjamin was threatening he would send out the victim’s nude photos if she didn’t do what he wanted.
Benjamin remains in Bradford County Prison at this time, he had a preliminary hearing for the charges against him Wednesday morning, Feb. 1, with the trial being adjourned and will continue at a later date.
