Man on lam 8 years sentenced for sexual assault

AUBURN – A man who was on the lam for eight years can’t hide his location for the next four years. He will be in prison.

Michael H. Poulin, who fled in his brother’s private airplane to avoid charges that he molested two girls in Lisbon, was sentenced for gross sexual assault on Thursday in Androscoggin County Superior Court.

Poulin, 51, pleaded guilty to the charge involving one of the victims. The other case was dropped because the victim now lives out of state and was unavailable to testify against him.

A victim, who was 11 when she was enticed with $100 bills to perform sex acts, addressed the court on Thursday.

“I was an innocent little girl with a big heart,” the victim, now 19, told the judge. “He molded me like a ball of clay to what his sick mind wanted me to be. He made me feel dirty and hollow.”

According to court documents, the victim was a friend of Poulin’s niece. The other victim, who was 12 at the time, told police that Poulin forced her to perform sex acts about 19 times.

Justice Thomas E. Delahanty accepted the district attorney’s recommendation that Poulin be required to serve four years of a 10-year sentence, followed by six years of probation.

The victim who appeared in court was not impressed.

“I think they go way too easy on sexual offenders,” she said. “I guarantee you that when he gets out, he’ll do it again.”

Poulin slipped away when his arrest became imminent in 1994 and avoided law enforcement authorities for eight years despite being featured twice on the television program “America’s Most Wanted.”

Investigators say Poulin managed to escape because he was given a ride in his brother’s private plane. The brother, Alex Poulin, later was convicted on a charge of hindering apprehension.

On Nov. 2, Poulin walked into the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department and announced he was being sought on warrants.

Where Poulin was while on the lam remains a mystery. Delahanty asked Poulin where he hid out while he was fugitive, but Poulin declined to answer on the advice of his lawyer.

Police believe Poulin was forced to surrender because he ran out of money, but defense lawyer Jennifer Ferguson says Poulin turned himself in because he was ready to face the charges.