Quincy ‘bad breath rapist’ sentenced to at least 18 years in prison

A man known as the “bad breath rapist” was sentenced to at least 18 years in prison Thursday after spending 17 years as a fugitive since the 2005 rape, officials announced.

Tuen Kit Lee, 55, was convicted of aggravated rape in connection to a assault where he broke into a woman’s Quincy apartment, threatened her with a knife, zip-tied her, and sexually assaulted her, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney.

The woman attacked was a waitress at a restaurant in Quincy, where Lee worked as a manager, the DA said. Lee was masked, but she recognized his “putrid breath,” which was from his use of traditional herbal medicines, the DA said.

Lee fled Massachusetts during his 2007 trial before he was found guilty of kidnapping and aggravated rape, the DA said. Since then, his case went to national audiences on “America’s Most Wanted,” which officials said could help locate the fugitive. 

Massachusetts State Police announced a $10,000 reward last summer for any information that could lead to his arrest when authorities learned he could possibly be in the area of Diablo, California. He was captured earlier this year.

Lee was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison and five years probation with substantial conditions, Norfolk DA Michael Morrissey said. 

“The State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and Quincy Police never forgot about this case, and that persistence finally led to Lee’s capture in California,” Morrisey said. “We strongly believed that a substantial period of incarceration was appropriate given the brutality of the crime and demonstrated lack of remorse.”