BOSTON, February 28, 2018— After spending more than 20 years on the run, a former Dorchester man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two children in the 1990s, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury this afternoon found JOHN J. HARTIN (D.O.B. 1/22/70) guilty of five counts of rape of a child – indictments he fled after they were returned by a grand jury in 1993. He faces sentencing Tuesday.

During the course of a trial this week, Assistant District Attorney Alissa Goldhaber of the DA’s Child Protection Unit presented evidence and testimony to prove that Hartin sexually assaulted two children during 1991 and 1992 when the victims were ages 6 and 9. At the time of the abuse, Hartin was in a romantic relationship with a relative of one victim; the second victim was a friend of that child.

Based on the victims’ disclosures and additional evidence collected at the time, Suffolk prosecutors secured indictments against Hartin on July 16, 1993. Rather than facing the criminal charges against him, however, Hartin fled the area.

Hartin remained a fugitive until 2016, when renewed efforts by Boston Police, Suffolk prosecutors, FBI, and US Marshals resulted in information that led to Hartin’s capture in North Carolina, where he had been living under the name “Jay Matthew Carter.”

“Child sexual assault inflicts a unique and terrible harm on its victims,” Conley said. “No matter how many years go by, no matter how far the offender might run, survivors may still feel a part of themselves trapped and afraid. Our commitment to them does not waver with time, and I hope they take some satisfaction in knowing their disclosures helped us hold this defendant accountable.”

Tina Nguyen is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Hartin was represented by Robert Zanello. Sentencing before Suffolk Superior Court Judge Linda Giles will take place Tuesday.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.