Orlando man arrested in 2004 rape case at Florida airport

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — An Orlando man was arrested at Fort Lauderdale International Airport on suspicion of raping a mentally handicapped woman in 2004, Boynton Beach police said.

Pascal Estime, 55, sexually battered the woman, now 33, on two occasions and impregnated her, police said.

Police used genetic material from the fetus to determine Estime had fathered the child, police said.

The case went cold for 12 years because police could not determine Estime’s whereabouts.

In July 2016, a Boynton Beach detective tracked Estime to Orlando and obtained a search warrant for his DNA—but Estime flew to Haiti before the warrant was served.

With assistance from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the warrant for Estime’s DNA was executed at his home in Orlando mid-June.

Police determined that Estime had booked a flight to Haiti on JetBlue for Saturday and were able to arrest him before he boarded his flight.

Police said he confessed after being taken into custody.

Cox Media Group