Rape Suspect Captured After 10 Years on Lam

A man who escaped in 1991 while on trial for 180 rapes was recaptured in connection with 24 new assaults on Mexican and foreign female tourists in southern Chiapas state, authorities said.

Edilberto Montero Padilla, also known as Francisco Montero Zambrano, from Tuxtla Gutierrez, the Chiapas capital, was captured Thursday night in a church in San Juan de Chamula, police said.

During his 10 years on the run, Montero is believed to have committed 24 more rapes, nearly all against tourists, said San Juan de Chamula Judge Mariano Hernandez. Among the victims of the most recent attacks were two Dutch women, an Israeli woman and a Mexican woman, police said.