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Former APS bus driver sentenced to 30 years
Ralph Martinez at the time of his arrest by agents with the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Martinez was sentenced Monday to 30 years in prison.
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A former Albuquerque Public Schools bus driver who previously pleaded guilty to three decades-old rapes was sentenced Monday to 30 years in prison.
Ralph Anthony Martinez, 63, pleaded guilty in April to six counts of criminal sexual penetration in the rapes of four Albuquerque women dating back to 1988.
The cases are among several cold-case rapes solved in recent years after investigators tested thousands of rape kits that had remained untouched for decades.
Three rape victims attended Martinez’s sentencing hearing and two testified to the trauma they have experienced as a result of the attacks, said Martinez’s attorney, Lizzy Bunker.
“The women made compelling arguments,” Bunker said Monday. “One woman said she had to sleep with a gun, and she has a pit bull, and all because of this incident from more than 30 years ago.”
Agents with the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office linked Martinez to the rapes by collecting DNA from an APS school bus he operated.
Second Judicial District Judge Emeterio Rudolfo sentenced Martinez to the maximum allowed under the plea agreement, which had called for a sentencing range of 18 to 30 years in prison.
“I am really proud of the hard work our Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit is doing,” District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a written statement. “We hope this brings some justice to these women and their families.”
Two of the victims testified Monday at Martinez’s sentencing hearing, saying the attacks had shattered their lives and caused years of trauma, said Nancy Laflin, spokesperson for the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Martinez accepted a plea deal in April in which he pleaded guilty to six felony counts of criminal sexual penetration.
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The rapes Martinez pleaded guilty to date back to 1988 and span incidents involving three women, ages 18, 19 and 35. Details of the rapes include:
- In October 1988, Martinez broke into the home of a 19-year-old woman in the 1700 Block of Wyoming NE and told her he had a knife.
- In August 1991, Martinez broke into the home of a 35-year-old woman in the 8000 Block of Aspen NE and brandished the victim’s own gun.
- In August 1991, an 18-year-old woman was sleeping in her apartment in the 5300 block of San Mateo NE when Martinez broke in and sexually assaulted her.
Martinez was also linked to the rape of a fourth woman, then 59, who has since died. No charges were filed in that case.
