The Associated Press
Rapalo sang -- literally -- during 6-hour interrogation
MIAMI -- A serial rape suspect who escaped jail said he considered committing a rape while he was on the loose for nearly a week, authorities said.
Reynaldo E. Rapalo told investigators he spent six days in a makeshift shelter hidden in the brush of southwest Miami-Dade County.
During a six-hour interrogation after he was caught Monday, Rapalo said he came out of hiding and stopped by a party on Christmas Eve where he considered raping two people.
“He actually contemplated committing a sexual act on these two people,” Miami-Dade police Sgt. Robert Perez said.
Before his escape, Rapalo told at least one inmate that his plan was to return to his native Honduras, but to first kill a prosecutor handling his case, according to the State Attorney’s office.
A tipster led police to Rapalo on Monday night at a Miami shopping center. He escaped jail December 20 by prying open a ceiling vent, cutting through bars and rappelling down the side of the building using tied-up bed sheets.
After escaping, Rapalo said he ran south alongside railroad tracks.
“The entire time he was trotting down the rail tracks, he was looking up at the sky to see if helicopters were upon him,” Perez said.
Some homeless men gave him money, which he used at a gas station to buy a soda and make a phone call. Detectives would not say who he called, but did say the person brought Rapalo food and the two stayed that night in the bushes nearby.
It is unclear whether that person will face charges.
Over the next several days, Rapalo made his way to a train station, where he made several calls. He came out only for food and purposely avoided the Little Havana neighborhood where he is accused of sexually assaulting seven women and girls, ranging in age from 11 to 79.
During the interrogation Monday night, detectives say Rapalo asked for rice, beans with steak and plantains and sang songs he composed in jail.
“It was like he was calculating how he could get out of this room if he had to,” Detective Ralph Fratianni said. “His eyes were always shifting.”