‘Rapist with bad breath’ caught after 16 years on the run across the country

A convicted rapist nicknamed the “Bad Breath Rapist” has been caught more than 16 years after escaping from Massachusetts, authorities say.

Tuen Lee, who was arrested in Northern California on Tuesday, broke into a co-worker’s home on February 2, 2005, and raped her, according to Massachusetts State Police.

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

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In 2007, a jury found Lee guilty of rape and kidnapping, the US Marshals Service said. However, he had already fled the state, authorities said.

Authorities searched for Lee for years, and investigators spent hundreds of hours searching, police said. Police said investigators also made the case public on the television show “America’s Most Wanted.”

Then, this year, police zeroed in on a multimillion-dollar home owned by a woman in Diablo, California, about 25 miles east of Oakland, authorities said.

On Tuesday, police monitored Lee and a woman as they left the house and conducted a traffic stop on their car, authorities said.

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According to state police, Lee initially gave authorities a false name but later admitted his true identity, which was confirmed by fingerprints.

“Despite the 15 years they spent together in California, his partner did not know who he really was,” state police said.

“Tuen Lee was on the run for more than 16 years, and the tireless efforts of law enforcement to find and apprehend him will hopefully bring peace of mind to the victim and her family,” Chief Inspector Sean LoPiccolo, deputy commander of the U.S. Marshals Service’s Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, said in a statement.

‘Bad-breath rapist’ caught across country after 16 years on the run Originally published on abcnews.go.com