“Bad breath rapist” lives in Diablo

The San Ramon Valley is making national headlines this week after it was discovered that the fugitive in a nearly 20-year-old Massachusetts rape case had evaded authorities for more than 16 years, living most of that time with a woman in Diablo who did not know his identity.

Tuan Lee, 55, had been in custody at the West County Detention Facility since Wednesday afternoon after being arrested Tuesday by Danville police on an out-of-state warrant for a 2005 kidnapping and sexual assault in Massachusetts from which he had been on the run since 2007.

Lee was dubbed the “bad breath rapist” after he was identified based on DNA evidence and the smell of his breath as the man who broke into the home of a woman who worked at his family’s restaurant outside Boston and raped her in 2005.

According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Lee was found guilty on all counts in 2007, but fled the state in the middle of the trial after taking the witness stand.

The search for Lee has continued since then, and earlier this year investigators made a breakthrough in the case that led them to Diablo, where Lee is believed to have been living with a woman for more than 15 years and keeping his identity secret from her and the rest of the community.

“Further investigation revealed that the multi-million dollar residence belonged to a flower shop owner,” Massachusetts State Police officials said Tuesday. “Open source information provided investigators with images of a person on social media who they believed to be Lee.”

Investigators from Massachusetts traveled to the San Ramon Valley to follow up on the leads along with the U.S. Marshals Service’s Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force (PSWRFTF) after verifying Lee’s identity and whereabouts with the assistance of Danville Police.

During a subsequent surveillance operation, Lee and the woman he lived with were observed leaving their home in Diablo and getting into a vehicle. DPD officers conducted a traffic stop on Tuesday. Lee confessed his identity after being pressed by officers and initially giving a false name. His identity was then confirmed through fingerprints. He was taken into custody by DPD and booked into the West County Detention Facility without bail, where he will remain until his extradition to Massachusetts.

“There are violent offenders who believe they can commit crimes without being held accountable for their actions,” said Sean LoPiccolo, acting PSWRFTF commander, in a statement from the U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday. “Tuen Lee was on the run for more than 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.”

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