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Convicted child rapist missing after fleeing mid-trial

MIDDLESEX COUNTY — Authorities in Middlesex County are searching for a convicted child rapist who they say ran off in the middle of his trial.

Stephen Corbin, 38, went missing days into his trial last month for the sexual assaults of a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office. He was convicted in absentia of eight counts of aggravated rape of a child.

Corbin was accused of assaulting the girls on multiple occasions at a home in Lexington and a motel in Bedford in 2017. Following his arrest that year, he was released on $25,000 cash bail and ordered to wear a GPS tracker.

Authorities say Corbin cut off that tracker during his trial. He was in the area of North Street in Andover at the time, according to the district attorney.

“This is a relatively rare occurence, to be in the middle of trial and then suddenly the alleged perpetrator disappears,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said.

Since Corbin’s disappearance, investigators have found his truck close to his former home in Methuen. He also has ties to Lawrence, Haverhill and Hudson, N.H.

Corbin is described as 5-foot-11, approximately 160 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Ryan says Corbin is not believed to be a threat to the public, or to the victims in the case. Anyone with information is asked not to approach him and to call the Massachusetts State Police.

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