After disappearing halfway through his trial, 38-year-old Stephen Corbin Jr. was sentenced to 40 to 50 years in prison for his child rape conviction.
Corbin was sentenced Thursday in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, Massachusetts. This sentence is only for the rape case, not the additional fleeing from justice charges he also faces.
The Methuen man was convicted on eight counts of aggravated rape of a child on April 14, but he didn't appear in court to hear the ruling. Authorities said Corbin disappeared in the middle of his trial. He appeared in a Maine courtroom on a new fugitive from justice charge earlier this week.
Corbin was convicted of raping 14-year-old and 15-year-old girls on multiple occasions in 2017 at a home in Lexington and a motel in Bedford. On several occasions, prosecutors said, he supplied drugs and alcohol to the two girls.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
"I mean I’m sorry for any harm done but like I don’t know what else," Corbin said in court.
Corbin told the judge he is struggling with his mental health.
"I had a mental breakdown so I’m… I really don’t know what, where to start, what to say."
One of the victims also spoke, detailing the nightmare her life has become.
"I went through on and off depression spells where I couldn’t eat, sleep or even get out of bed. My father spends nights awake blaming himself for what happened and he doesn’t trust anyone anymore," she said.
The other victim was represented by her father, who spoke of the hopes and dreams she had as she started high school - shattered by Corbin.
"Guilt, self blame, nightmares, flashbacks, not knowing who to trust, anger, resentment, a lack of self-worth, bullying, isolation, losing her best friend at the time," he listed off.
The assaults happened in 2017 but COVID-19 shut down the courts, pushing the trial to this year.
Corbin's trial spanned six days, and he disappeared after three days.
Since his arraignment back in 2017, Corbin had been free on $25,000 cash bail with a condition that he wear a GPS bracelet, stay away from the two victims and obey a curfew that allowed him only to go to and from work.
However, according to investigators and the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office, Corbin cut off a GPS tracking bracelet and disappeared before his conviction.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
Last week, Maine State Police and U.S. Marshals arrested Corbin at a home in Farmingdale, Maine.
Police allege in new court documents released Monday that Corbin arrived as a passenger in a car to an address on Dineen Drive that they were surveilling.
They reveal that Corbin replied "probably" when he was asked if he knew why he was being taken into custody again.
The documents do not explain how exactly authorities traced Corbin to Maine.
More coverage of the case
In court on Monday, Corbin signed a document waiving an extradition hearing after declining to waive liability for the process of the arrest, which was done on the advice of his attorney.
