Police have tracked down a wanted child rapist after he failed to appear for his sentencing, at which a judge had indicated he would be locked up.
John Paul Garay, 62, was located on Thursday night, hours after Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson issued a warrant for his arrest.
Garay had been due to appear before the ACT Supreme Court judge that afternoon to be sentenced for eight child sex offences he was found guilty of committing in the 1980s.
The historical crimes, which included two rapes of a boy who used to stay with Garay during school holidays, all occurred at the offender's home in Wanniassa.
Garay, who maintains his innocence and is appealing against his convictions, tried twice to stave off his punishment by applying for a stay of his sentencing.
He was present at 12.30pm on Thursday, when Chief Justice Lucy McCallum rejected the second of those applications and said he would have to appear for sentencing at 2.45pm.
Garay's now adult victim and his wife were in court to see him sentenced when that time came, having travelled a long distance from a regional area, but the offender had vanished.
In a brief statement on Friday, ACT Policing confirmed Garay had since been found.
"A 62-year-old man who failed to appear for a court sentencing yesterday was located by police last night," the statement said.
"He is currently receiving medical treatment and will appear in court at a later date."
Justice Loukas-Karlsson has previously indicated she will be sentencing Garay to a term of full-time imprisonment for his crimes.
She had only allowed him to remain on bail until Thursday so he could find appropriate accommodation for his elderly mother, for whom he has recently been a full-time carer.
