« Michael Jackson trial prompted boy to report that evangelist abused him | Main | Alleged abuse victim 'revictimized' »
April 29, 2005
Greenville Man Accused Of Molesting Two Children
MONTCALM COUNTY -- A man from Greenville is in the Montcalm County Jail charged with 11 counts of criminal sexual conduct involving a minor.
28-year-old Benjamin Wolfgang is accused of molesting two young children, and police say there could be even more victims.
Neighbors in the Pond View Estates trailer park in Greenville are breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm a father myself and that scares me that someone like that could be lurking around this neighborhood," said Dan De La Fuente.
It was pretty shocking to find that we have one so close. I have grandchildren that come over here, said Kathy Demorest.
Living just across from Kathy Demorest was Benjamin Wolfgang. He was arrested and charged with 16 counts involving sex with children, including eleven counts of rape.
Investigators say Wolfgang was taken in by friends about 3 weeks ago and wasted no time trying to have sex with their 7-year-old child. The mother called police.
Officer Wayne Dillon tells FOX 17 News at Ten, "Once I started investigating that case, the child led me to about 300 DVDs which contained homemade child pornography and other sex acts." Wolfgang was arrested two days later.
Police searched his blue Chevy van and found hundreds of sexually-explicit material, all involving young children. One tape led them to a child in Stanton, who's now seven but was just 4 years old in the video.
Montcalm County Prosecutor Andrea Krause plans to go after the maximum penalty possible, calling it the worst case of sexual abuse involving minors she's seen in 15 years of prosecuting criminals. "It's terribly heartbreaking, because you can see the look on her face, and to think that someone would do this to a four year old is unconscionable," said Krause.
Wolfgang is originally from the Stanton area but moved to Arkansas before coming to Greenville. So far, not all of the children on the tapes have been identified and that has police looking into the possibility of more victims in and out of Michigan.
Wolfgang will be in court for a preliminary hearing on May 3rd.
Posted by Nealus at April 29, 2005 04:50 PM
