Man charged in old rape case

Cold Case Unit links DNA to paralyzing 1994 assault

Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, May 26, 2006

Prosecutors charged a man Thursday with raping a woman who was paralyzed in the attack and then deserted in a car stuck on railroad tracks.

What makes the case even more noteworthy is that the crime happened 12 years ago.

Benjamin Anderson, 31, was linked to the crime by DNA evidence and efforts by the Denver Police Department's Cold Case Unit.

Anderson is being charged with sexual assault and kidnapping in the April 16, 1994, attack, which police said began when he encountered the woman after she stopped at a convenience store in the 4500 block of Steele Street.

The woman, then 48, was on her way to work in the early morning hours.

Anderson asked her for a ride and got into her car despite her refusal, police allege. The woman eventually agreed to give him a ride, but after they had driven a short distance, he punched her in the face and grabbed the steering wheel, according to a police affidavit.

He held her head down so that she couldn't see out the window and told her to work the gas and brake pedals while he steered the car, threatening to "break her neck" if she didn't comply, the affidavit states. Then Anderson ordered her to stop the car and began to rape her, according to the affidavit.

During the struggle, the woman told police, she felt "excruciating" pain in her neck and went numb. The attack left her a quadriplegic.

After raping the woman, the affidavit states, Anderson drove the car a short distance and got it stuck on railroad tracks at 51st Avenue and York Street. There, he raped her again and abandoned the car, leaving the woman inside, the document states.

Anderson is serving a prison sentence in another 1994 rape. The victim in that case also encountered Anderson at a convenience store, police said. Anderson is scheduled to appear in Denver County Court on June 8 to be advised of the new charges.

lindsays@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5181