A Florida man, who was on the run from law enforcement for 10 years has been arrested in Connecticut.
According to investigators, on Saturday, March 5, 2022, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) located Benjamin Quinn, 37, in Bethlehem, Connecticut where he was living under the name “Michael Waters.”
Quinn was arrested on an outstanding warrant for two counts of Sexual Battery on a Person Under 12 Years of Age, a capital felony.
In March 2012, MCSO Major Crimes detectives began investigating a report that Quinn had repeatedly sexually battered a 10-year-old child beginning when the child was only 8 years old. After suffering nearly two years of ongoing abuse, the victim told her family, who then confronted Quinn.
Quinn fled from the area, leaving behind only a note in which he apologized for what he did, stated he was sick, and said he needed help. Detectives promptly obtained a warrant for Quinn’s arrest but were unable to locate him.
After a long fugitive investigation, FDLE Special Agent Yolanda Carbia determined that Quinn was living on a farm in Bethlehem, Connecticut under the false name of “Michael Waters.” Special Agent Carbia and MCSO Detective Cody Blair, with the assistance of the US Marshal Service and the Connecticut State Police located Quinn on the farm and placed him under arrest.
“With the cooperation of these law enforcement agencies, we were able to bring justice to this victim and her family,” stated Sheriff Billy Woods. “Quinn is an individual who preyed on the innocence of a child, and with the hard work of the detectives and all agencies involved, he is now behind bars where he cannot harm another child.”
“FDLE takes great pride in its federal, state, and local partnerships,” said FDLE Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Matt Walsh. “It is through these collaborations that a violent offender was located-hiding in plain sight- under an assumed identity. Quinn will no longer be a threat to society. Capturing Quinn provides answers to the victim and the victim’s family. It also demonstrates the capacity that law enforcement agencies have through teamwork.”
Quinn is currently being held at the Connecticut State Department of Corrections awaiting extradition back to Marion County for two counts of Sexual Battery on a Person Under 12 Years of Age.
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