MIAMI -- Miami-Dade police have arrested a woman they say admits she helped serial rape suspect Reynaldo Rapalo after he escaped from jail.

Police arrested 45-year-old Alejandra Carvajal Tuesday night. She is charged with accessory after the fact in a capital sexual battery, a felony. Carvajal is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail -- which means she can be released on $2,000 bond. As of late Wednesday afternoon, she was still being held.

Police said that Carvajal provided Rapalo with money and food. Investigators said on the night that Rapalo escaped, he used a pay phone to call Carvajal's cell phone. She says that Rapalo told her that he had escaped, and they arranged to meet the following night, Dec. 21, at 9 p.m.

Carvajal said she took a bus from her Little Havana apartment to 69th Street and Bird Road, where Rapalo had made a hidden encampment in a wooded area. She told police that even though she was aware of the crimes Rapalo is accused of, she stayed with him all night. She said they had been friends for three years. The extent of their relationship is unclear.

Investigators said that Carvajal admitted that she provided Rapalo with a cell phone that he used, but she said she panicked, and disposed of the phone because she thought the calls would be traced.

There is no record of Carvajal ever having visited Rapalo while he was incarcerated at the Turner Guilford Knight Center.

Police said that Carvajal told them she helped Rapalo because she felt sorry for him.

Carvajal was employed as a housekeeper. Immigration officials said that she is a Honduran immigrant who is in the country illegally. Rapalo is also an illegal immigrant from Honduras.

Police said they tracked down Carvajal by tracing phone calls. Rapalo made other calls, and detectives are continuing to investigate.

Since Rapalo's arrest, many people have been curious about the fuzzy pink sweater he was wearing when he was caught and where he might have gotten it. When asked, police said only that Carvajal likes pink and when she was arrested, she was also wearing pink.

Watch Local 10 News for more on this developing story.