DANVILLE, Calif. — Authorities announced this week that a fugitive known as the “Bad Breath Rapist” has been arrested in the San Francisco Bay Area, more than 16 years after he went on the run after being convicted of sexually assaulting a coworker in Massachusetts.
Tuyen Kit Ly was convicted in 2007 of kidnapping and raping a young woman at knifepoint in her Quincy home, south of Boston, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement on Tuesday. He fled before being sentenced.
Authorities continued to cover the case in the media, with Lee’s photo being featured multiple times on the television show “America’s Most Wanted.” After photos of a man believed to be Lee were leaked on social media, investigators were able to track him down to Contra Costa County, California, the bureau said in a statement.
Authorities said U.S. marshals and police officers arrested Lee on Tuesday near Danville, east of Oakland, after they saw him leaving a “multi-million dollar mansion” with a woman. Authorities said Lee initially gave a false name but confessed when confronted about his identity. He was later identified through fingerprints.
“His female partner, with whom he lived in California for 15 years, had no idea who he really was,” a statement from Massachusetts State Police said.
Investigators said Lee broke into the victim’s Massachusetts home on Feb. 2, 2005, and raped her.
“He was eventually identified through DNA and his severe breath odor, earning him the nickname ‘the Bad Breath Rapist,'” a state police statement said.
Lee was being held by police in California while awaiting extradition to Massachusetts.
It was unclear Wednesday whether he had an attorney who could comment on his case.
