Former Monroe officer takes the stand in child sex case

Testimony continued last week during the trial of Carlos Martinez, a former Monroe Police officer charged with sex crimes. His alleged victim and Martinez tell conflicting stories about how their relationship came to be, and soon it will be up to the jury to decide who is telling the truth.

Prosecutors allege Martinez, 61, used his position as a police officer to cultivate a sexual relationship with a teenage girl, who was 14 when the abuse began.

He is charged with one count of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and two counts of voyeurism. A Monroe police officer for 20 years, Martinez served as a DARE officer in the Monroe School District for seven years, and was appointed to the Monroe School Board in 2006, where he served until December 2007.

Martinez was married at the time, with two young children. The voyeurism charges are related to videos Martinez took in 2004 of the girl when she was 15 and babysitting his children.

In order to prove voyeurism, deputy prosecutor Lisa Paul must convince the jury that Martinez took the videos for the purpose of sexual gratification. The defense alleges Martinez took the videos because he was concerned the girl was cutting herself. The defense maintains the relationship between Martinez and the girl didn't become sexual until after she turned 18.

But the young woman, now 26, testified that it did.

Martinez and his wife, Julie, separated in 2009, and Martinez moved to Texas with the young woman. The two lived together until 2011, and then off-and-on until Nov. 18, 2011, when the young woman went to the San Antonio police with the videos Martinez had taken of her when she was 15.

A large part of the testimony has been centered on a sequence of events that allegedly occurred in May 2004, when Martinez's former wife was in Spain. The young woman alleged she and Martinez engaged in sexual contact around May 20, 2004, while watching the movie "Schindler's List.GÇ¥ She testified Martinez invited her over often that week, and at one point asked her to bring a bikini because they would be washing his horses.

The young woman testified she frequently helped with chores around the house, in addition to babysitting. She said Martinez encouraged her to takes showers in his home.

A still-shot taken from the video footage of the young girl while in Martinez's downstairs bathroom showed her wearing a green bikini. She testified she had purchased it for the occasion at Fred Meyer. She said Martinez squirted her with a hose and asked her to remove her shirt, commenting on what her body looked like in the bikini.

It was at some point during that week that she left Martinez what's been referred to as a "love note,GÇ¥ which was found by Martinez's wife when she returned from her trip. She called the young woman and told her that she was no longer welcome in their home.-á

The young woman was upset, and made a decision to talk with Monroe Middle School counselor Lena Berg.-á

"I was worried Julie would figure out what happened between Carlos and I, so I went to Miss Berg for some sort of guidance,GÇ¥ she said. "I was confused, saddened, angered, and was looking for peace of mind ' someone to help me on the right track.GÇ¥

She said she couldn't recall the entire conversation between herself and Berg, but had a memory of Berg warning her about "crying wolf.GÇ¥

Shortly after the incidents in May 2004, the girl moved with her family to Deer Park, near Spokane. She continued communicating with Martinez, and in June, sent emails to Martinez claiming that she was in Hawaii. She sent another email claiming that she was living in southern California with media personality Dr. Drew, and had met several movie stars, all of these emails being untrue.

Defense attorney Mark Mestel zeroed in on alleged inconsistencies between the young woman's testimony and information she provided the state patrol in 2012, and questioned why she would send emails filled with untruths to Martinez.

The young woman paused and lifted both of her arms. She held her hands out with her palms facing up, using them to demonstrate her point.

"As I said before, there is one life here that only Carlos and I know about, another life here that consists of my family and friends, which they know nothing about this life over here,GÇ¥ she said. "So after talking with Lena Berg and she said, "If you cry wolf so many times no one can hear you,' I wanted to go off to Deer Park, Washington, with a clean slate. I wanted to start over again.GÇ¥

Mestel questioned whether she would tell lies in her effort to start over. She said she wrote the emails for attention, because she was trying to portray herself as an "adventurous adult.GÇ¥-á

The defense questioned the girl regarding events that took place in November 2011. She had testified that when she and Martinez were in the process of separating, he had showed her the two video tapes he'd take of her when she was 15. She said that he masturbated while watching the video footage, and that when she left, she felt disgusted.

But on Nov. 9, 2011, after the two allegedly watched the videotapes together, she accompanied Martinez to a military ball. Mestel asked why she went to the ball.

"Carlos was someone that I trusted and loved for many years,GÇ¥ she said. "I wasn't living with him, and I was breaking away and trying to get my own two feet on the ground. For me, I found it was hard to break away that easily, so I went to the ball with him.GÇ¥

About a week later, she went to the San Antonio police with the videotapes. The state of Texas declined to press charges, and the case was referred to the Washington State Patrol for investigation.

A search warrant revealed screen captures that showed that from Nov. 19 GÇô 21, 2011, Martinez performed web searches including "video taping minors in Washington state,GÇ¥ "statute of limitations in Washington,GÇ¥ "statute of limitations Washington state voyeurism lawsGÇ¥ and whether or not a state can prosecute for a crime committed in another state.

During the prosecution's redirect, Paul addressed inconsistencies in the young woman's testimony brought up by Mestel, and questioned the girl about her memories.

"I have images of scenarios that come through my head in chunks,GÇ¥ she said. "So as one question is asked about a particular incident, I start getting memories from different interactions with Carlos that are either are relevant to that incident or not.GÇ¥

Paul asked her if there was any fuzziness at all in her mind that Martinez first touched her inappropriately when she was approximately 14. The girl said there was no fuzziness about that.

On Thursday, one of Martinez's former coworkers at the Monroe Police Department testified that he had warned Martinez to distance himself from the girl because it was obvious she had a crush on him.

Martinez took the stand on Friday, testifying he had no sexual encounters with girl prior to her turning 18, and refuted much of her testimony. He said that they touched each other's heads during the "Schindler's ListGÇ¥ incident, because they had started discussing phrenology, but that nothing sexual had occurred.

He said he had no recollection of a coworker warning him to distance himself from the girl.

He testified the two had sexual intercourse after he gave her the videotapes in November 2011, but she was the one who wanted to watch them, and there was no masturbation. He maintained that the cameras were placed in the bathroom in 2004 because he wanted to see if she had cuts on her body. He testified he did not ask her to bring a bikini while his wife was in Spain, and that he didn't encourage her to take showers at his home. -á -á -á

Paul asked if he had heard the girl's testimony; that he had squirted her with the hose and encouraged her to take off her shirt.

"I heard her testify she gave me (oral sex) in the living room too,GÇ¥ Martinez said. "I did not squirt her with the hose; she did not take off the shirt, because we did not wash a horse on the 20th of May.GÇ¥

The trial is expected to last through Tuesday, Nov. 3, but could take longer.