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Officers Locate, Arrest Suspect Who Fled During Rape Trial In 1989

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A suspect who fled during a rape trial in 1989 was arrested in Westchester County on Friday.

Westchester County officials say Nelson Gustavo Caceres, a Guatemalan national, was arrested in 1988 after he allegedly dragged a woman into a wooded area of Mount Kisco and sexually assaulted her. The victim said she had met him earlier in the evening and he became angry when she would not go home with him.

Nelson-Gustavo-Caceres
Nelson Gustavo Caceres, who fled during a rape trial in 1989, was arrested in Westchester County on July 5, 2019. (Credit: Westchester County Department of Public Safety)

Caceres was indicted in 1988 and was freed on bail, but he fled during his trial in White Plains in 1989. He was convicted of attempted rape and sentenced in absentia to five to 15 years in prison.

In the '90s, detectives determined Caceres was likely back in Guatemala. The case was kept open, and during a recent review, detectives determined Caceres, now 51, had possibly returned to Mount Kisco.

Caceres was located and taken into custody without incident in the village Friday night.

"We received a good deal of cooperation in the Mount Kisco community during this investigation and are grateful for the public's assistance," Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason said in a release. "Mr. Caceres will now serve the sentence that was handed down three decades ago and the victim in this incident will receive the justice she deserves."

Caceres is facing an additional charge of bail jumping second degree, a felony.

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