California rapist who spent 21 years on the run after failing to register as a sex offender is caught by cops in Florida

May 27, 2021- 6:47 p.m.

A California rapist who went on the run after failing to sign the sex offenders register was caught in Florida 21 years later after applying for a fishing license.

David Swenson, 53, was arrested on Tuesday after Hernando County Sheriff’s Office received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a sex offender who was possibly living in Spring Hill. 

Investigators discovered that Swenson was an ‘absconded sex offender’ from California who had active warrants there for failing to register as a sex offender in the state in 2000, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

He was convicted of rape and another serious sex offence in 1989 and freed in 1993, but failed to register seven years later, sparking a hunt by authorities.  

Detectives learned that Swenson was living under the name Kevin Crowley with his wife in a Springs Hill home and recently used that alias to obtain a fishing license. 

Cops say they used multiple databases to deduce that Crowley was really Swenson, but did not explain further – or say how the fishing license registration had ultimately led to his capture.  

Police said two cars, a camper, and a boat found on his Florida property were all registered to his wife, Kathleen Crowley.

It is unclear if she knew of her husband’s real identity, or his criminal past.  

The sheriff’s office said they had previous contact with Swenson in 2009 when they responded to his Spring Hill home over an undisclosed matter and found him hiding in the attic.

Authorities said that Swenson provided police his false name of Kevin Crowley and he was issued a notice appear in court but the case, whose specifics were not shared, was eventually dropped due to a pre-trial diversion.

Further details on why Swenson’s decision to hide in the attic did not arouse police suspicions were not revealed.  

DailyMail.com has contacted Hernando County Sheriff’s Office for further information.  

Records from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles show that Swenson never obtained a driver’s license or ID card under his real or fake name or registered in the state of Florida as a sex offender.

Swenson was finally arrested after detectives went to his Spring Hill home and spoke to his wife Kathleen, who told police he was out riding his bike in the neighborhood. 

Detectives searched for Swenson and were not able to find him until the department’s aviation unit found him walking on the bike trail of a local park. 

Swenson confirmed his identity to police and he was taken into custody.    

During an interview with detectives Swenson said he wanted to ‘end his time on the run,’ and that he had been living in Spring Hill for the entire 21 years he was on the ‘run,’ the sheriff’s department said. 

Swenson also admitted to escaping from California and failing to register as a sex offender in Florida.

The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said ‘unfortunately’ California authorities declined to extradite Swenson. 

The 53-year-old was charged with failing to register as a sex offender and is currently being held without bail. 

He faces being extradited back to California to stand trial.