“Rapist with bad breath” Tuen Lee caught on the other side of the country after 16 years on the run

US News

From Olivia Land

A convicted sex offender known as the “Bad Breath Rapist” was arrested more than 16 years after he went on the run during his trial in Massachusetts.

According to the Massachusetts State Police, Tuen Lee was arrested in Northern California on Tuesday.

Lee broke into a colleague’s house and raped her on February 2, 2005, police added.

He was “ultimately identified by his DNA and his terrible breath, earning him the nickname ‘The Bad Breath Rapist,'” the statement said.

He was convicted of rape and kidnapping in 2007, but had already fled the state by the time the jury announced its verdict.

Authorities searched for the attacker for years – and Lee even appeared in an episode of “America’s Most Wanted.”

Investigators made a breakthrough in the case earlier this year while examining a store owner’s multimillion-dollar home in Diablo, California, the official statement said.

Officers observed Lee and a woman leaving the house on Tuesday and stopped them during a traffic stop.

Lee initially gave a false name but later confessed his true identity, which was confirmed by fingerprints.

“His partner did not know who he really was despite their 15-year relationship in California,” state police said.

Lee will now be taken to the Danville Police Department for registration, pending extradition to Massachusetts.