'Bad breath rapist' returns to court 16 years after fleeing trial in Quincy case

QUINCY ‒ A convicted rapist from Quincy appeared in Dedham Superior Court on Wednesday after 16 years spent as a fugitive of justice.

Tuen Kit Lee, 56, known as the "bad breath rapist," sat slumped in his seat, at times shaking his head, as an interpreter translated the proceedings into Cantonese. He last appeared in the courthouse on Sept. 8, 2007, after he had testified and the prosecution had rested its case.

He had been free on $100,000 cash bail, according to Assistant District Attorney Lisa Beatty.

Judge Michael Cahillane revoke Lee's bail and ordered a sentencing date for June 20 at 3 p.m.

"The victim has been awaiting justice a long time after the verdict," Cahillane said. Lee was convicted in absentia in 2007.

Philip A. Tracy, the same lawyer who defended Lee in 2007, requested the entire file from the 2007 case.

"If there is an appealable issue, I'd like to review it," Tracy told the Judge.

Tracy described Lee as "depressed" and possibly in need of psychiatric care. He said he has not yet had time to communicate thoroughly with Lee and that Lee's competency and ability to assist his legal counsel in his defense could become an issue.

After the hearing, Tracy told reporters outside the courthouse that Lee has lived "a quiet life without crime, without any incidents at all," since his disappearance.

"On the other hand, there's a day of reckoning," Tracy said. "He's going to have to deal with it."

Tracy said that after Lee was first arrested in 2005, a fellow inmate assaulted him, causing "significant" injury.

"He was terrified at that point – and is now – of going to jail," Tracy said.

Asked about his life on the run, Tracy said he was living with a woman, his "significant other," in California. "I think he tried to live quietly, tried to live a good life," Tracy said.

The woman thought Lee had financial problems related to bankruptcy and debt, according to Tracy.

"It's a sad case all around," he said. "For the victim, for him, for the woman he established a relationship with. We have to deal with it the best we can."

The case of the 'bad breath rapist'

In 2007, Lee was convicted by a jury in absentia on four counts of aggravated rape, home invasion, kidnapping, armed and masked robbery, assault to rape, indecent assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery.

After more than 16 years on the run, he was arrested in northern California on May 28 and returned to Massachusetts after waiving rendition. He has yet to be sentenced.

A Chinese national, Lee was convicted of raping a waitress in her early 20s who worked for him at the Kagasawa Japanese restaurant in Quincy on Feb. 2, 2005. He disappeared in September 2007, the day after testifying during his trial Dedham Superior Court. He had been free on $100,000 cash bail.

At trial, prosecutors argued that Lee broke into the woman's home and forced himself upon her at knifepoint. The woman told police that although the attacker was masked, she could recognize him as her boss by his foul breath. Lee bound the woman to the bed, fastening her wrists to the bedposts using plastic ties, according to court documents.

The woman was still bound when her boyfriend arrived 15 minutes after the rape. She had a puncture wound in her back from the knife, according to the documents. Eventually, DNA evidence tied Lee to the crime.

Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy said the tenacious police work of Detective John Menz, the lead investigator on the case for the past 16 years, greatly contributed to his arrest in May.

"He really never gave up on this case," Kennedy said. "He would give it some time, then randomly interview family members to see if anyone was going to turn on him. He used all these different investigative techniques. He went on America's Most Wanted years ago to try and find him."

The Americas Most Wanted episode about the Lee case, which featured an interview with Menz, aired in late 2007.

Lee arrested in California after 16 years on the run

On Tuesday, May 28, multiple law enforcement agencies arrested Lee, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Massachusetts State Police and the Quincy Police Department assisted with the arrest.

Lee's whereabouts were unknown for more than 16 years until the 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 multimillion-dollar residence owned by a woman who owned a flower shop, according to the Massachusetts State Police press release. 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 local 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.

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 returns court 16 years after fleeing justice