Citrus County rapist caught

Bruce Alan Young, the nurse convicted of sexually assaulting seven patients at a hospital in Citrus County, was caught early sunday morning in Arcadia near where he escaped from a civil commitment center on Friday.

A city of Arcadia police officer found Young, 59, walking down a street at 2:39 a.m., according to the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office. The officer stopped to ask Young what he was doing at that hour and recognized him as an escaped sexual offender. It happened at the intersection of Hickory Street and Hernando Avenue in Arcadia.

The capture ended a weekend of worry for the seven victims who testified in 2005 that he should continue to be held under the Jimmy Ryce Act, which the Legislature passed in 1998 to allow dangerous sexual offenders to be held beyond their sentences. The Florida Civil Commitment Center in Arcadia, from which Young escaped, was opened to hold those convicts.

The 2005 Jimmy Ryce hearing on whether Young should stay in state custody was the first time many of the victims appeared in court to testify against him, and some feared retribution when they learned of his escape from news reports and the state attorney's office, which worked to keep them informed of the situation during the weekend.

Young is being held at the DeSoto County Jail on a charge of escape from lawful custody.

Stephanie Garry, Times staff writer