Great Barrington man convicted of rape may have fled to Mexico

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A Great Barrington man has been convicted of child rape, even though authorities say he has fled to his native Mexico.

A Berkshire Superior Court jury on Wednesday found 41-year-old Ciro Reyes-Palma guilty of 11 charges even though he wasn't in court.

Reyes-Palma was at his trial last Friday but failed to show Monday. Federal authorities told police his passport was used at Kennedy Airport in New York on Saturday for a flight to Mexico.

Reyes-Palma was free on $10,000 bail.

Prosecutors say he sexually molested a girl in Great Barrington over three years beginning in 2009. The victim is now 15.

The Berkshire Eagle reports Reyes-Palma's defense attorney questioned the evidence and said her client may have visited friends in New York and been trapped by Sandy.