Atlanta minister who fled court arrested in Bahamas

Don Martin got a life term for sexually assaulting a girl.

An Atlanta minister who fled the Fulton County courthouse earlier in December before being convicted of rape and child molestation was arrested in the Bahamas on Saturday, authorities confirmed.

Don Martin, 45, was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years for sexually assaulting a girl when she was 7 years old until she was 13, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office said.

He was arrested by Bahamian police at Lynden Pindling International Airport, Bahamian newspaper Tribune 242 reported. Martin is originally from Martin Town, Grand Bahama, and he’s expected to be extradited back to the U.S. to serve his sentence.

He left the courtroom after five days of testimony. In his absence, Martin was convicted of rape, aggravated assault, child molestation and first-degree child cruelty.

Martin was found guilty of repeatedly inappropriately touching a young girl in College Park and Atlanta from 2005 to 2011. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution does not identify victims of sexual assault.

Her legal guardian told police she was friends with Martin and met him at the Atlanta church where he was a minister.

Martin would often visit their home, stay overnight and sleep downstairs, while the girl slept upstairs. Her guardian wasn’t aware of any sexual abuse.

Martin was also found guilty of raping the child once in her bedroom and molesting her on more than 30 occasions, including on her 12th birthday, throughout that six-year period. He was arrested in 2014. He was released on a $15,000 bond that required him to wear an ankle monitor, but a Fulton County Superior Court Judge altered his bond conditions in 2017, allowing him to remove the monitor. That’s why his location was unknown after he fled the courtroom.