A man convicted of promoting prostitution in absentia after skipping out on bail in the middle of his trial fled because his life was in jeopardy, his lawyer, Jeffrey Ara­kaki, said in state court Tuesday.

Joseph Vaimili was recaptured and was back in court Tuesday as Circuit Judge Randal K.O. Lee sentenced him to 40 years in prison for promoting prostitution, terroristic threatening, using a firearm to commit the threatening and two counts of kidnapping.

Lee ordered Vaimili, 29, to spend at least 10 years in prison before he is eligible for parole because he is a repeat offender. The Hawaii Paroling Authority can set a higher minimum.

Vaimili was present for jury selection for his trial but was a no-show in court in June 2010 on the day the lawyers were to give opening statements.

The trial went on without him, and the jury found him guilty of charges that he used threats and violence to force a woman to work for him as a prostitute, including taking her to a secluded pineapple field and holding a gun to her head.

His girlfriend, Natasha Cambra, was supposed to stand trial with him for kidnapping, but on the day Vaimili was a no-show, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a deal with the prosecutor.

Vaimili did not speak in court Tuesday before being sentenced because he will be appealing his convictions, Ara­kaki said.

The U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force said it tracked Vai­mili to Nevada and California before catching him last September in Texas.