“Rapist with bad breath” arrested after 17 years on the run

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DANVILLE – A Massachusetts man who had been on the run since 2007 after being convicted of kidnapping and raping a woman nearly 20 years ago has been arrested near Danville, authorities said.

U.S. Marshals Service investigators found Tuen Kit Lee and arrested him Tuesday in the Diablo area of an unincorporated neighborhood in Contra Costa County, according to a statement from U.S. Marshals Service Senior Inspector Chris Tamayo.

Lee fled court in September 2007 and was convicted in absentia, authorities said. He was also known as the “bad breath rapist” because his victim recognized Lee’s bad breath from working with him at a Lee family restaurant, authorities said.

The crimes occurred in 2005.

In 2023, authorities offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his capture.

Massachusetts State Police recently discovered that Lee might be in Diablo, and Danville police helped federal authorities follow up on the leads, Tamayo said.

In addition to the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force in Northern California, the Massachusetts Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshal Service, the Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section of the Massachusetts State Police, and the Quincy (Massachusetts) Police Department assisted in Lee’s arrest.

“There are violent offenders who believe they can commit crimes without being held accountable for their actions,” Chief Inspector Sean LoPiccolo, acting PSRFTF commander, said in a statement. “Tuen Lee was on the run for 16 years and the tireless efforts of law enforcement to find and capture him will hopefully bring peace of mind to the victim and her family.”

Lee is being held by police in Danville until he can be extradited to Massachusetts, authorities said.

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