Man arrested at airport for 2004 sexual battery

Pascal Estime, wanted in a 2004 sexual battery case, was found trying to sleep at an airport gate, waiting to board a flight to Haiti on JetBlue, according to Boynton Beach Police.

The capture, assisted by the Broward County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals South Florida Regional Task Force, ended a 13-year hunt for the former Palm Beach County resident.

Estime, 55, was arrested Saturday on a charge of sexual battery. Police said the victim, a mentally handicapped woman, was impregnated.

He is accused of sexually battering a now 33-year-old Boynton Beach woman on two different occasions. The resulting pregnancy was terminated, but DNA evidence processed earlier this year linked Estime to the crime, Boynton Beach Police said.

The trail went cold for 12 years, but a Boynton detective pursued Estime to Orlando and obtained a search warrant for his DNA in July 2016. However, Estime slipped away to Haiti, police said.

Last month, nearly a year later and 13 years after the initial crime, detectives were finally able to execute the warrant for the DNA, and confirmed Estime's connection to the battery, police said.

Estime was arrested at the Fort Lauderdale airport after detectives were notified Friday that he had booked a Saturday flight to Haiti. Authorities apprehended Estime while he was pretending to sleep, said department spokeswoman Stephanie Slater.

He was taken to the Boynton Beach Police Department where he confessed, Slater said.

“He is a good man,” said Jean Estime, Pascal's nephew, during an appearance in court Sunday.

Jean Estime took his uncle to the airport Saturday after Pascal called him and said he wanted to go see their family in Haiti. Jean said he didn't believe his uncle was fleeing the country in an attempt to avoid the charges.

Estime, who appeared before Judge Marni Bryson on Sunday, will appear in court again Friday.