Escaped Rape Suspect Recaptured in Miami

A man accused of sexually assaulting seven girls and women was recaptured late Monday, a week after escaping from jail by rappelling down the building on bedsheets, police said.

Reynaldo E. Rapalo, 34, is accused of terrorizing the city’s Little Havana section and a nearby neighborhood called Shenandoah in 2002 and 2003. At the time of his escape, he was awaiting a trial that could have sent him to prison for life.

Police chased him on foot on a southwest Miami street after a tipster called in Rapalo’s location and description, Miami-Dade Police Director Robert Parker said.

“He is a very dangerous individual, and we are very glad to have him back in custody tonight,” Parker said.

Rapalo and another inmate escaped Dec. 20 after climbing through a vent in the ceiling of a cell and onto a sixth-floor roof, police said. The vent was supposed to be locked, but it had been pried open, and bars blocking it were cut.

Officers scoured neighborhoods, airports, train stations and ports for Rapalo, a Honduran native, and guards were assigned to victims who still live in the area.

Police have said the saw-like tools used in the escape may have been smuggled in, and Rapalo apparently had plotted the breakout for months.

“We suspect that he had some help,” Parker said. “We took some things off of him -- he still had the blade that he used to escape.”

The other inmate, Idanio Bravo, who was also awaiting trial on sexual assault charges, was captured outside the jail after breaking his legs when he jumped.

The so-called Shenandoah rapist was the target of a massive manhunt following attacks on girls and women ranging in age from 11 to 79. Police say Rapalo, who was arrested in September 2003, was linked to the rapes by DNA evidence.

In addition to the alleged sexual assaults, Rapalo also is accused of attacking four other women and girls.