The U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to a specific sentence of 15 years in prison for the crime, production of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Martinez could have faced 30 years if he’d been convicted at trial.
The victim, now 26, was prepared to testify about being sexually assaulted by Martinez starting at age 6 and continuing through age 12, and about being shown Polaroid photos of the incidents by his attacker. He sat quietly in the back row of the courtroom with his wife, FBI case agent Mary Adkins and a victim advocate from the U.S. Attorney’s Office as the plea unfolded before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Scott.
The victim, whose family had connections to Martinez’s and who had worked at the Martinez family asphalt striping business, was to have testified today at the continuation of a suppression hearing before U.S. District Judge James O. Browning that began last week. Browning heard testimony Thursday from Adkins, the victim’s wife and sister-in-law and an FBI child analyst and forensic interviewer who specializes in sexual abuse cases.
Browning ruled after several evidentiary hearings in the past two years that officers from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office had gone too far in entering Martinez’s home after a 911 static or hang-up call with nobody on the line. Undeterred by the legal setbacks, prosecutors filed a new indictment in December that relied on the victim’s testimony.
Defense attorneys Sam Bregman and Eric Loman again filed a suppression motion asking for the victim testimony to be excluded, arguing that it was obtained by the same unconstitutional means as the physical evidence.
But different rules apply to witness testimony and Browning hinted last week that he was considering denying the suppression motion filed by defense despite their previous successes at suppressing evidence taken from Martinez’s Tijeras home.
The plea was worked out with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charlyn Rees and Presiliano Torrez after the court scheduled a continuation of its hearing Monday at which the victim was to testify.
Martinez, 53, speaking in a raspy voice, agreed to the facts alleged in the plea and the defense agreed to withdraw the motion to suppress victim testimony.
Martinez will be on lifetime supervision after his release, which with good behavior could be by the time he’s 63 or 64. Browning has kept Martinez in custody pending trial, meaning he’s served about 2 1/2 years in the federal system.
The plea calls for him to register as a sex offender and forfeit videos, tapes, Polaroid photos and a camera.
Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque FBI, lauded the hard work and persistence of the FBI agents, prosecutors and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.
“This is an important case that demonstrates the commitment of the FBI and its law enforcement partners to bring child pornography offenders to justice, regardless of the obstacles or how long it takes,” she said. “In spite of the suppression of physical evidence last year, investigators diligently continued working on the case and found additional witnesses.”
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal
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