Man facing child rape charges held on $1M bail
After more than 20 years on the run, a man who allegedly raped two boys in Hyde Park was arraigned Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court. John J. Hartin, 46, formerly of Dorchester, was arrested in North Carolina. He had fled Boston in 1993, after he was indicted on five counts of child rape. Hartin pleaded not guilty to the five counts against him Tuesday from outside the court door. His attorney, Robert Zanello, advised him not to appear in court for fear his fellow inmates may see his photo and take retribution against him for being an alleged child rapist. Hartin was held on $1-million bail, and will have to wear a GPS monitor if he is released. The two boys Hartin allegedly raped were between the ages of 6 and 9. Hartin was dating a family member of one of the boys, and the other boy was that boy’s best friend.At the time of the indictment, Hartin was also a Big Brother in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, according to prosecutor Alissa Goldhaber. The FBI, in coordination with the U.S. Marshals and Suffolk prosecutors, launched a campaign to locate Hartin, which included media campaigns, facial recognition software, a spot on John Walsh’s America’s Most Wanted, and follow-ups on more than 100 tips, according to Goldhaber. A tip on June 13, 2016, eventually led investigators to Hartin, she said. He was using the pseudonym “Jay Matthew Carter,” as well as a false birthday and Social Security number. On the airplane back to Boston, Hartin allegedly told investigators, “I realized what I did was wrong when I got in the plane in Boston.”He added that he had never told anyone about his crimes, and “I never harmed anyone in anyway,” according to Goldhaber.The boys Hartin allegedly raped are now adults, and Goldhaber said that they are continuing to cooperated in the investigation. Zanello said his client had been living in North Carolina where he had found work as an IT specialist.“As far as I can tell you, there have been no other instances of the accusations here in other jurisdictions,” Zanello said.Zanello said his client is currently “calm and collective.” “He’s not frothing at the mouth or anything like that,” he added. Hartin returns to court September 20.
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