A fugitive paedophile who escaped a mental health facility in Melbourne has been caught hundreds of kilometres away in Warrnambool, the town where he raped a child.
Christopher Austin, 22, was arrested at a home in Warrnambool about 12.30pm on Friday and taken into custody after 10 days on the run.
He had been at large since he scaled a large fence to escape from the Disability Forensic Assessment and Treatment Service in Fairfield on Tuesday, November 22.
Austin was serving a five-year sentence in the facility after he was found guilty in 2013 of the rape of a young boy at a Warrnambool party.
The Geelong County Court heard that Austin took the victim into a room and sexually assaulted him.
The court was told at the time that Austin's victim had been left traumatised by the assault and showed symptoms including crying, rocking, repeating "I don't feel safe" and fear of men who looked like Austin.
Austin, a member of the Warrnambool Aboriginal community, has an intellectual disability and a long history of heavy drug abuse and criminal offending, dating back to when he was just 11 years old.
Fugitive taskforce members are on route to Warrnambool.
