‘Rapist with bad breath’ caught in California after 16 years on the run

A convicted rapist who fled during his 2007 trial in Massachusetts and evaded capture for more than 16 years was arrested in California on Tuesday, police officials said.

Tuen Kit Lee, 55, was found guilty by a Norfolk Superior Court jury of raping and seriously injuring a waitress after breaking into her family’s home in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 2005, according to Massachusetts State Police.

He wore a mask and abused the woman at knifepoint.

The victim recognized her attacker by his bad breath, police said, and local media soon dubbed him the “rapist with bad breath.”

During his trial, Lee paid $100,000 bail and fled, police said. He was convicted in absentia and could have faced a possible life sentence.

According to a press release from the U.S. Marshals Service, law enforcement believed Lee had left the state but were unable to locate him until they received information that he was living in Diablo, a small town in Northern California.

Police in nearby Danville followed up on the leads and officers from Massachusetts soon arrived to arrest Lee.

Coordination of the arrest was credited to the Marshals Service’s Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, a group that works with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to “track down and apprehend the most dangerous fugitives and assist in high-profile investigations.”

“There are violent offenders who believe they can commit crimes without being held accountable for their actions,” said Sean LoPiccolo, head of the task force. “Tuen Lee was on the run for more than 16 years,” he said, and the arrest “will hopefully bring peace of mind to the victim and her family.”