FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - A former Bridgewater man who fled the state 16 years ago after committing at least four “brutal” rapes dating back to the 1990s has been ordered held without bail, authorities said.
Ivan Keith, 61, appeared Friday in Fall River Superior Court, where a judge deemed him a flight risk and also found him dangerous, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.
He is due back in court Dec. 6 for a pretrial hearing.
Prosecutors say Keith was recently identified as the person who allegedly committed a pair of unsolved rapes, one of which occurred in 1997 outside Bristol-Plymouth Regional High School in Taunton.
In that case, a 36-year-old woman was exercising on the track outside the school when Keith, sporting a mask, allegedly jumped out in front of her, forcibly led her to a wooded area, tied her up and raped her.
The second alleged rape occurred in 1998 at Steve Porter Appraisal Services in Easton when prosecutors say he attacked a 47-year-old woman as she took out the trash. He then allegedly raped her before binding her hands and fleeing.
Investigators cracked the cold cases earlier this year and in doing so, they are said to have linked Keith to two other unsolved rapes from 1996 out of Norfolk County and Plymouth County.
In July, authorities were granted an arrest warrant charging Keith with failure to register as a sex offender and making false statements in connection with a slew of prior sex-related crime convictions.
The warrant was entered into the National Crime Information Center and Keith was tracked to Seal Cove, Maine, where he was said to be living under a new name.
Keith was taken into custody without incident on Aug. 2 and he later waived rendition.
A Bristol County grand jury indicted Keith on five counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, perjury, failure to register as a sex offender, failure to provide a DNA sample, breaking and entering, and two counts of threats to commit a crime.
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