Police: Pa. man kidnaps, rapes teen; shots fired
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - A man who once described his interests as serial murder and rape took a 14-year-old girl from her home at gunpoint early Tuesday, raped her at a motel in the Poconos, then opened fire on police as they tried to arrest him, authorities said.
Derek Bengtsson, 27, of East Stroudsburg, was charged with attempted homicide, rape, kidnapping and other counts after surrendering to authorities at the Budget Host Inn shortly after 9 a.m.
Bengtsson kidnapped the girl around 1:20 a.m. and drove her to the 54-room motel in Stroudsburg, where he shackled and raped her, police said. Bengtsson eventually fell asleep and the victim managed to escape and call police.
State police said the tall, burly, bearded suspect fired at least four shots at officers from Stroud Area Regional Police Department as they broke down the door to his motel room, and that one officer became pinned down in a bathroom. No one was hit.
"The fact that he fired, it was pretty unbelievable that no one was hurt," said state police Trooper Robert Sebastianelli.
Police said the victim knew her attacker but declined to provide more detail about their relationship.
A MySpace page evidently belonging to Bengtsson lists his interests as "Poker, serial murder, rape, torture, etc." Among his heroes, according to the site: "child molesters" and serial killer Ted Bundy. Sebastianelli said police were examining the page.
After his arraignment, Bengtsson was sent to the Monroe County Correctional Facility on $500,000 bail. It wasn't clear if he had an attorney.
The girl told police that Bengtsson had gone into her bedroom, showed her a handgun and said, "If you don't come with me, bad things are going to happen." She said he threatened to kill everyone in the house if she didn't follow his instructions, according to a police affidavit.
Bengtsson drove her in her mother's car about 10 miles to the motel, where he took her into a room, locked the door behind them and barricaded it with chairs, police said. Then he gave her two options: She could kill him or have sex with him, police said. She refused and he raped her, documents said.
Bengtsson also showed her a note that she later took with her and gave to police.
The note said, in part: "Yes, I took her. And as long as you play by my rules, She will come back unharmed and breathing. However, Failure to abide by the rules will result in a bullet put in her head. My Rules: Do NOTHING! Sit there in silence and SUFFER."
It wasn't clear to whom the note was addressed.
