A convicted rapist who escaped a Phoenix courthouse in 2009 before being arrested in Mexico in 2015 has been sentenced to 54 years in prison.
A jury had convicted 36-year-old Adrian Cruz in absentia in 2009 on charges of kidnapping, sexual conduct with a minor, sexual abuse of a minor and sexual assault.
In 2005, Cruz pleaded guilty to raping his girlfriend's 9-year-old daughter and was sentenced to life in prison with a chance of release after 35 years.
Authorities say Cruz's DNA was matched in 2008 to two earlier sexual assault cases and he faced another trial.
Cruz slipped out of handcuffs and walked out of a court holding room in February 2009.
He was arrested in 2015 near Mexico City and extradited to Arizona to finally be sentenced.
