A Massachusetts man who fled trial and was convicted in absentia in 2007 on a rape charge lived with a California woman for more than a decade without her knowing he was a wanted fugitive, authorities said.
But the man's hidden past came to the surface on Tuesday when law enforcement officers in Danville, California, about 30 miles east of San Francisco, arrested a man known as the “Bad Breath Rapist,” 55-year-old Tuyen Kit Lee, according to Massachusetts State Police.
State police said Lee, who fled just before closing arguments in his trial in Quincy, Massachusetts, was living with a florist in her multimillion-dollar home in the Diablo neighborhood of about 1,200 people, a suburb of Danville.
When stopped by police, Lee initially gave a false name, but “ultimately confessed when confronted about his identity,” state police said. “He was identified through fingerprints. His female companion, with whom he had lived in California for 15 years, did not know who he really was,” state police said.
Quincy Police Department Capt. Daniel Guarente said investigators were able to track down Lee after “received information that he may have been in California and in contact with family, and initiated an investigation based on that information and located him in California.”
Lee was convicted of brutally raping a waitress at his family-owned restaurant in Quincy, south of Boston, in 2007. State police said Lee wore a mask when he broke into her home on Feb. 2, 2005, held her at knifepoint, tied her to a bed and sexually assaulted her.
She was discovered several hours later by her boyfriend, who visited her home after being unable to reach her by phone, state police said.
Investigators identified Lee as the assailant after the victim noticed he was breathing heavily, according to state police, who also said DNA testing linked him to the crime.
Lee, who was arrested and charged with rape, was released on $100,000 bail prior to trial. Just before closing arguments, he disappeared.
His lawyer at the time, Philip A. Tracy Jr., said in an interview Wednesday that Lee feared returning to the prison where he had been assaulted.
“He was worried and scared,” Tracy said. “He thought he'd never see or hear from him again.”
Lee's trial continued without him and he was found guilty of rape, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, but no sentence was imposed.
Investigators spent hundreds of hours searching for Lee, and his case was featured on the TV show “America's Most Wanted,” state police said. Last year, authorities offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
But the investigation into the case appeared to have stalled until earlier this year, when state police said “new information has shed significant light on the case,” without providing further details.
Authorities said Lee will be brought back to Massachusetts to serve his sentence after being a fugitive for nearly 17 years.
“There are violent criminals out there who believe they will not be held accountable for their crimes,” Shawn LoPiccolo, acting commander of the U.S. Marshals Service task force that helped capture Lee, said in a statement. LoPiccolo said he hopes the arrest “brings some peace of mind to the victim and her family.”