Ex-Asheville man charged with sexual assaults in Los Angeles; police seek more victims
A former Asheville resident has been charged with a series of sexual assaults in Los Angeles dating to 2017, police have said, a time when he continued to live in Western North Carolina, according to state records.
Benjamin Parke Belser, 36, a current resident of South Los Angeles who formerly lived in Asheville, was arrested Feb. 4 on suspicion of rape, forced sodomy, forced oral copulation and sexual penetration with a foreign object, according to a release from Los Angeles Police Department.
Det. Brent Hopkins confirmed to the Citizen Times that Belser was a former Asheville resident. He is noted in a 2005 Citizen Times story as a senior on the Asheville High debate team. A social media account says he went to Harvard University from 2005-2009, receiving a bachelor's degree in history. Later, he lived south of Asheville in the town of Saluda, according to state voting records. Those show him as a registered voter there from 2016-2020, a time overlapping with the period during which police allege he committed the crimes in Los Angeles. Detectives say they are not ruling out potential victims in Western North Carolina.
Belser's father, David Belser, was a prominent defense attorney who worked on death penalty cases and represented former Sheriff Bobby Medford who was convicted of corruption. Belser's mother Susan Parke, is also an attorney and a former food writer for the Citizen Times. Messages to Parke were not returned Feb. 14.
More:Ex-DA Newman defends nephew charged with breaking into home of woman he met on dating app
More:Search warrant: Asheville High student accused of rape, sharing Snapchat visuals
It is not clear who Belser's attorney is. He is facing 12 felony counts and remains in custody with bail of $6.2 million. His next court appearance is March 2 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, police said.
Police say Belser appears to have targeted women using social media and dating applications. Beginning in at least 2017, he began contacting women online and used elaborate ruses to conceal his identity, according to the release. The sexual assaults continued until at least 2022, when officers began an investigation.
"On Feb. 4, detectives served a search warrant on his home in the Village Green community and recovered extensive evidence supporting the investigation and are still searching for additional information that could connect him to unreported crimes," the release said.
Police say Belser used various aliases to avoid detection, police said. He is a 6-foot-5-inch white male, weighing 170 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Witnesses described him as having a distinctive body odor, officers said.
Investigators identified five women whom Belser allegedly assaulted but believe there are others who have yet to come forward.
“Cases like this are especially heartbreaking because people are often reluctant to report sex crimes because they’re embarrassed,” Det. Asia Hodge, Special Assault Section, officer in charge, said in the release.
More:Ex-Buncombe jailer who was sexually assaulted by captain wins settlement
More:Jury rejects woman's sex trafficking claims against Baumstark, 3 other police officers
“But if these many survivors are already speaking out, we think there may be more people who are waiting to speak up. We need their help to hold him accountable. We’re gratified that the District Attorney’s office filed charges, but the work has just begun,” Hodge said. “We believe there are more people out there who need help and we’ll keep working until we find them.”
Detectives are requesting that anyone with information that could lead to the identification of additional victims or witnesses to contact LAPD’s Operations-West Bureau, Special Assault Section, at 213-473-0447. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247).
Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go directly to lacrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may also visit lapdonline.org, and click on “Anonymous Web Tips” under the “Get Involved-Crime Stoppers” menu to submit an online tip. Lastly, tipsters may also download the “P3 Tips” mobile application and select the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers as their local program.
This story will be updated.
Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Ex-Asheville man charged with series of sexual assaults in Los Angeles
