A former bus driver who has been on the run for 17 years has returned to Massachusetts to face charges for the alleged rape and kidnapping of one of his passengers in 1998, officials said Friday.
A former bus driver who has been on the run for 17 years has returned to Massachusetts to face charges for the alleged rape and kidnapping of one of his passengers in 1998, officials said Friday.
Henry Gonzalez, 44, was a Saugus bus driver for children with special needs, according to Massachusetts State Police.
Saugus police received a report on Dec. 16, 1998, that a 13-year-old special needs student had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted by her bus driver earlier that day, state police said. Gonzalez was arrested.
Gonzalez was supposed to face trial at Essex Superior Court in June 2000, state police said, but he did not appear in court.
He was on the run until his capture in the Dominican Republic in May. Gonzalez's extradition was completed when he returned to Massachusetts Thursday night.
"I hope this arrest brings some measure of closure to the victim and affected family members who have waited 17 years for justice in this case," said John Gibbons, United States Marshal for the District of Massachusetts.
Gonzalez lived in Lynn at the time of the alleged crime and was added to the Massachusetts State Police Most Wanted list in 2001. He was also featured on the former America's Most Wanted television show.
The office of Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett says that Gonzalez will now face the charges of rape of a child with force, kidnapping, and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.
"No one on the investigative team ever forgot the victim who was so seriously harmed by this violent criminal, and no member of the team ever wavered in their dedication to hauling him out of the shadows where he was hiding and into the light of justice," said State Police Superintendent Colonel Richard D. McKeon.
The investigation continued for years and authorities eventually learned that Gonzalez was staying in the Dominican Republic, state police said.
Gonzalez was flown into Logan International Airport Thursday night under the guard of United States deputy marshals, State Police said. He is being held at the Saugus Police Department until he will return to Essex Superior Court to face charges.
"This man committed a heinous act, betraying the trust placed in him by the victim, her family and the community as a whole," said Saugus Police Chief Domenic DiMella. "For nearly 20 years, he's evaded the law, and it is through the hard work and tireless efforts of Saugus Police Detectives, the Massachusetts State Police, the United States Marshals Services and the Essex County District Attorney's Office that this man is now being held accountable for his actions today."
