NEW YORK (AP) — A Georgia resident, accused of sexually assaulting five women during a tumultuous crime spree in New York City during the early ’90s, was connected to these incidents through DNA found on a discarded cup, according to prosecutors.

Michael Benjamin, 57, from Conyers, appeared in court on Thursday following his extradition to New York. Due to concerns about his potential to flee, the court denied him bail, prosecutors revealed.

While being led from a police precinct in New York, Benjamin proclaimed his innocence to the press.

“I didn’t do this! I didn’t do none of this!” he shouted emphatically. “What witness? What fingerprints? I didn’t do this!”

The assaults, which took place from July 1995 to February 1997, involved the perpetrator entering homes through windows, according to the prosecution. The victims, aged between 21 and 42, included one woman who was victimized twice. In each case, the offender also stole money and other valuables.

Benjamin was linked to the assaults by DNA obtained last year from a discarded cup he had used inside the Rockdale County Sheriff’s office, prosecutors said. It was submitted for testing and matched DNA retrieved at the time the assaults occurred.

Benjamin was arrested in Georgia on Sept. 22 and extradited to New York on Tuesday. He faces 17 counts, including sexual assault and burglary charges.

“Although decades have passed, these cold cases were not forgotten,” Queens County District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “It is never too late for justice.”

Benjamin’s lawyer, Joseph Amsel, said his client “vigorously, vehemently and vociferously” denies the charges. “Most of these charges are outside of the statute of limitations,” Amsel said.