QUINCY ‒ After 16 years on the run, a fugitive from Quincy known as the “bad breath rapist” was apprehended in California, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Marshals Service.

On Tuesday, May 28, multiple law enforcement agencies arrested Tuen Kit Lee, who fled Massachusetts in September 2007 after a jury found him guilty of raping and kidnapping a woman in 2005. Lee failed to show up for trial the day after testifying. He had posted $100,000 cash bail.

Massachusetts State Police and the Quincy Police Department assisted with the arrest.

Lee attacked his coworker with a knife as he bound, gagged, sexually assaulted and robbed her.

Lee broke into a co-worker’s home, threatened her with a knife, then bound, gagged and raped her on Feb. 2, 2005, according to a Massachusetts State Police press release. Investigators identified Lee as the perpetrator by DNA and “his horrible breath,” a trait which led to the nickname “The Bad Breath Rapist,” state police said.

“I greatly appreciate the work of the Massachusetts State Police Fugitive Unit and the men and women of the U.S. Marshals Service who made this arrest possible,” Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy said in a statement.

Lee’s whereabouts were unknown for more than 16 years, until Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section determined Lee was possibly staying in Diablo, California, a small town between San Francisco and Sacramento.

Lee was staying in a multi-million dollar residence owned by a woman who owned a flower shop, the Massachusetts State Police press release says. Investigators found images of Lee on social media tying him to the address in Diablo.

On May 28, surveillance officers saw a man and woman leave the Diablo home. When Danville police stopped the vehicle, Lee first gave a fake name but later confessed his to his identity , the press release says. The woman, with whom Lee spent 15 years, never knew who Lee really was, according to State Police.

“The arrest brings closure to the victim and law enforcement officers who have worked tirelessly over the 16-plus years to find Lee,” the U.S. Marshals Service press release says.

Peter Blandino covers Quincy for The Patriot Ledger. Contact him at pblandino@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: ‘Bad Breath Rapist’ arrested in California after 16 years on the ru