SEXUAL
PREDATOR CAPTURED
James M. Wahlrab, United
States Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio announces the
arrest of Eric Benson. Benson was wanted by the Houston County
(Georgia) Sheriffs Office for violating his probation. Benson was on
probation due to an original charge of child molestation. Last
April, Benson was arrested by Dayton Deputy Marshals for the same
charge. Unfortunately for Benson, he failed to learn from that
arrest and returned to the Dayton area. Last week, Dayton U.S.
Marshals received information that Benson had returned to the Dayton
area and was therefore once again in violation of the terms of his
Georgia probation.
At approximately 6am this morning, Deputy U.S. Marshals knocked on
the door of a house located in the 200 block of Lexington Avenue
where they believed Benson was residing. The Deputy Marshals were
greeted by the girlfriend of Benson who informed them Benson was not
in the house and she had not seen him since the April arrest. After
intense questioning and the possibility of facing jail time for
harboring a fugitive, the girlfriend admitted that he was hiding in
the attic. The Deputy Marshals forced open the attic door and
arrested Benson. Houston County Sheriff Deputies believe Benson had
fled Georgia in an attempt to elude capture. Due to the severity of
the original crime, non-compliance of state and federal law, and the
helplessness of the victim, the U.S. Marshals made locating and
arresting Benson once again a high priority. Benson is awaiting
extradition at the Montgomery County Jail.
The U.S. Marshals Service was America’s first federal law
enforcement agency and each year arrests more fugitives than all
other federal law enforcement agencies combined.
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