Man who fled rape convictions is back in the country
LAWRENCE — A child rapist, who fled the country in the middle of his 2006 trial and was then convicted in absentia, will be in Lawrence Superior Court on Monday in preparation for his sentencing.
German Reyes, 46, formerly of Lawrence and Methuen, was convicted in 2006 of raping and assaulting his daughter in 1998 and 1999 when she was 11 and 12 years old, and then again from 2003 to 2004.
He fled the day before closing arguments in the case after his common law wife paid $25,000 to bail him out of jail, said Stephen O'Connell, spokesman for the district attorney's office.
Reyes was recently found in the Dominican Republic and was brought back to the United States Tuesday. O'Connell said prosecutor Maureen Wilson Leal worked tirelessly to find Reyes and have him returned, with help from the Department of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, the state police fugitive apprehension task force and Lawrence police.
Reyes faces life in prison for his convictions on one count of rape of a child, three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a belt), three counts of incest, and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child over 14.
Reyes will be in Lawrence Superior Court Monday when a sentencing date will be set.
