Fake salesman realized customer, 48, was disabled - then raped her

A fake door-to-door magazine salesman decided to take advantage of a disabled prospective customer and raped her. Benjamen Gilbert, 37, was jailed for 40 years on Tuesday for the attack on the woman in The Woodlands, Texas, on January 6.

Gilbert was going door-to-door pretending to sell magazines on the day of the attack, and came into his 48 year-old victim’s apartment after she opened the door to him.

He sat down on her sofa, then sexually assaulted her and left. The woman called her family, who immediately notified their local sheriff’s office.

Jurors agreed with prosecutors’ assertions that Gilbert was an opportunistic predator who realized the woman was vulnerable, and exploited her. Four days before the rape, a man matching Gilbert’s description was reported to police by another resident of The Woodlands after he tried to gain access to her home.

Gilbert was arrested on January 8 – two days after the woman’s rape – after a third resident of the area called 911 to report a suspicious person in their neighborhood.

He was picked up on an outstanding arrest warrant, and confessed to the rape shortly afterwards, KTRK reported. As part of his plea deal which saw him admit aggravated sexual assault of a disabled person, Gilbert’s victim has been granted a lifetime protection order from him.

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