“Rapist with bad breath” caught after 16 years on the run

A fugitive known as the “Bad Breath Rapist” who was on the run for more than a decade was captured in California on Tuesday, authorities said.

Tuen Kit Lee was taken into custody on Tuesday, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a news release. Lee was found guilty of kidnapping and raping a young woman in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 2005, but fled during his trial in September 2007, according to the news release. He was called the “bad breath rapist” because the smell of his breath was one of the pieces of evidence that led to his identification, CBS reported.

Authorities suspected Lee had fled Massachusetts but did not know where, the news release said. Massachusetts State Police had previously offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to Lee’s arrest, CBS reported.

Investigators with the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS) then learned that Lee may have been in Diablo, California, the release said. Investigative tips were forwarded to the U.S. Marshals Service’s Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force (PSWRFTF) in Northern California, which, in conjunction with Danville police, confirmed that Lee was in the area.

Massachusetts investigators traveled to California and, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, arrested Lee on Tuesday, 16 years after his escape.

“There are violent offenders who believe they can commit crimes without being held accountable for their actions,” Chief Inspector Sean LoPiccolo, PSWRFTF deputy commander, said in the release. “Tuen Lee was on the run for more than 16 years and the tireless commitment of law enforcement to find and apprehend him hopefully brings peace of mind to the victim and her family.”