KPTM FOX 42: Omaha News, Sports and Weather; kptm.com |Rapist Caught in Wisconsin After 15 Years

An Omaha man on the run for 15 years was caught and arrested in Green Bay, Wisc. Thursday morning.

Francisco Martinez, 41, was convicted of first degree sexual assault, using a deadly weapon to commit a felony and two other felonies back in 1996. Martinez raped, beat and threatened the mother of his child with a butcher knife.

Before the judge could sentence him, he posted bail and fled.

The case was cold for 15 years before Omaha Police and other local authorities decided to reopen the case.

They worked with Green Bay Police to track him down.

"We made contact with Mr. Martinez who initially told us his name was Israel Chavez.  He wasn't," said Patrick Amerson, a deputy Marshall in Green Bay. Amerson says Martinez maintained his alias until he was confronted with additional evidence and the fact that he would be fingerprinted.

Local police say they located him partially by finding family members who had relocated to Green Bay, but had been living in Omaha when Martinez was in jail. They started looking a bit deeper and found that the picture on Martinez's driver license under a false name matched his mug shot perfectly.

 Martinez is awaiting extradition back to Nebraska.

For now, local authorities say the victim can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"The victim in this crime doesn't have to keep looking over her shoulder. She has family now, and I'm sure she's going to be very relieved that he's off the streets."