Feds: N.Y. man posed as teen, raped Mass. 13-year-old

A 33-year-old man from Queens, New York, allegedly posed as a 16-year-old boy online and then traveled to Boston and raped a 13-year-old girl, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a release Thursday.  

Andre Bennett was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, officials said. 

According to charging documents, in September 2025, Bennett, who was employed by Delta Air Lines as a ground controller at JFK Airport in New York, allegedly created multiple social media accounts using the fictitious name “Chris.”

Using these accounts, which included two Instagram accounts and a Snapchat account, Bennett allegedly falsely presented himself as a 16-year-old boy when contacting the minor. 

In November 2025, officials said Bennett took a flight from New York City to Boston. Upon arrival in Boston, Bennett allegedly informed the minor, whom he had previous contact with, that he was in the area and coerced her into meeting him in person, sending an Uber to her house. 

Bennett met the minor wearing a hooded sweatshirt that concealed his face, officials said. He brought the minor victim to a hotel and raped her, officials said, and allegedly recorded the sexual assault on his phone. 

Following the encounter, Bennett allegedly continued to contact the minor through social media over the course of several months. He allegedly sought to entice her to meet with him again, including by offering to pay her, but the minor victim refused, officials said. 

In August 2026, Bennett was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with one count of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, and he remains in federal custody, officials said.