BOSTON (WHDH) - A Dorchester man was arrested in North Carolina, after being a fugitive for 23 years.
John Joseph Hartin, 46, was wanted for allegedly abusing two young boys, approximately eight and nine years old, whom he befriended in Boston in 1993.
Hartin fled after being charged with five counts of statutory rape of a child. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Hartin on December 18, 1997, and he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The FBI Boston Division’s Child Exploitation Task Force is in the process of returning Hartin to Massachusetts to face those charges.
The FBI and Boston Police Department developed information that Hartin was living in Walkertown, North Carolina, under the assumed name Jay Matthew Carter.
He was taken into custody without incident at his home Wednesday.
In 2012, Hartin was the subject of an FBI multi-state media campaign, and a reward up to $25,000 was offered for information leading to his arrest.
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