Man Arrested In Florida, Used Dead 5-Year-Old Child's Identity For Decades

A Connecticut man was arrested in Florida after being on the run for decades and using a dead child's identity to do so, according to NBC 2.

Douglas Bennett, 76, was convicted by a jury in Connecticut of robbery, kidnapping, sexual contact, rape, and deviate sexual intercourse in 1975. He was sentenced to 9 to 18 years in Connecticut State Prison, but he never turned himself in to begin his sentence, according to the Department of Justice.

NBC 2 said Bennett assumed the identity of a 5-year-old who died in 1945. With this false identity, he's evaded authorities for 40 years. The 76-year-old was arrested in Clearwater, Florida on Wednesday (November 4) after a fingerprint comparison confirmed he was the same man convicted years ago.

Bennett had a Florida driver's license with the fake information at the time of his arrest. He was "charged with passport fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 12 years in federal prison," according to NBC 2.

In South Florida, Broward County deputies arrested a Fort Lauderdale man on multiple crimes, including child porn and "lewd and lascivious" battery on children. Authorities also claimed he used Snapchat to prey on his victims.

Photo: Department of Justice