Former Monroe Police officer has more legal troubles in 2016

Former Monroe Police Sgt. Carlos Martinez continued facing legal challenges in 2016, including a recent 26-day stay in Snohomish County Jail for violations of the conditions of his supervised release.

Martinez, 62, was convicted of sex crimes in November 2015, after a jury found during his trial that evidence supported allegations he used his position as a police officer to cultivate a sexual relationship with a young female student, secretly videotaping her in various stages of undress for the purposes of sexual gratification.

During testimony in 2015, the victim said the abuse began when she was about 14 years old. Martinez, a married father of two at the time, had hired the victim as his family’s babysitter around 2003.

A 20-year veteran of the Monroe Police Department, Martinez resigned in 2009. He was a D.A.R.E. officer and a member of the Monroe School Board in 2006.

He was convicted of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct at the end of 2015. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison on Thursday, Jan. 21, and allowed to remain out of custody on a $50,000 bond while his appeal was pending. Defense attorney Mark Mestel filed the notice of appeal on Feb. 3.

A temporary order of commitment was filed in September, based on alleged violations of the terms of his supervised release. Martinez, who has been living in Monroe, was arrested by Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputies at his home on Sept. 15.

According to court records, Martinez was found to have been in possession of a firearm and had contact with a minor without a Department of Corrections-approved chaperone, both violations of the terms of his release.

Documents state Martinez admitted to handling the firearm during a routine polygraph to confirm compliance with the terms of his release. He told the polygraph examiner he transferred a loaded firearm belonging to his roommate to the private investigator that worked his case. The gun was transferred for safekeeping sometime during the early part of February, as a favor to his roommate.

During the same polygraph, he said there had been at least one instance where he’d violated conditions of his supervision in relation to having contact with a minor without an approved chaperone.

According to a report authored by sex offender treatment provider Don H. Cho, Martinez said he transferred the firearm in an effort to comply with the terms of his supervised release, removing it from the house.  

Martinez was initially listed as “compliant and cooperative” in a June report authored by Community Corrections Officer Miguel Santos, who recommended a weekend of jail confinement. The report also states Martinez completed a sexual deviancy evaluation and had enrolled in an educational program aimed to assist justice-involved individuals. He was also seeking employment and working with an employment program that assists convicted felons.

Santos reported in October that his previous sanction recommendation was a mistake; that the recommendations would have been appropriate for an offender in community custody. Martinez is not in community custody, but on supervised release pending appeal of his case.

“Mr. Martinez is one of those offenders who does not believe he has a sexual deviancy problem. It is important that he be sanctioned by the court,” Santos wrote in an Oct. 3 report.

Mestel filed an addendum authored by Cho on Oct. 7 that identified Martinez as at low risk for future acts of sexual misconduct.

“Based on all of the current data made available to this evaluator, Mr. Martinez’s current risk for future acts of sexual misconduct is moderate, however, based on the sex offender specific treatment that Mr. Martinez has had with this evaluator to date, his current threat of future acts of sexual misconduct is considered low at this time,” the addendum states.

Martinez was released from jail on Oct. 10, and placed back on a supervised release pending his appeal. The conditions of his release were amended to include a provision that he not possess or view images of the victim in his case, as he had reportedly found some images on an old phone. He was ordered to deliver all depictions of the victim to his attorney by Oct. 12.  

Martinez, 62, was convicted of sex crimes in November 2015, after a jury found during his trial that evidence supported allegations he used his position as a police officer to cultivate a sexual relationship with a young female student, secretly videotaping her in various stages of undress for the purposes of sexual gratification.

During testimony in 2015, the victim said the abuse began when she was about 14 years old. Martinez, a married father of two at the time, had hired the victim as his family’s babysitter around 2003.

A 20-year veteran of the Monroe Police Department, Martinez resigned in 2009. He was a D.A.R.E. officer and a member of the Monroe School Board in 2006.

He was convicted of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct at the end of 2015. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison on Thursday, Jan. 21, and allowed to remain out of custody on a $50,000 bond while his appeal was pending. Defense attorney Mark Mestel filed the notice of appeal on Feb. 3.

A temporary order of commitment was filed in September, based on alleged violations of the terms of his supervised release. Martinez, who has been living in Monroe, was arrested by Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputies at his home on Sept. 15.

According to court records, Martinez was found to have been in possession of a firearm and had contact with a minor without a Department of Corrections-approved chaperone, both violations of the terms of his release.

Documents state Martinez admitted to handling the firearm during a routine polygraph to confirm compliance with the terms of his release. He told the polygraph examiner he transferred a loaded firearm belonging to his roommate to the private investigator that worked his case. The gun was transferred for safekeeping sometime during the early part of February, as a favor to his roommate.

During the same polygraph, he said there had been at least one instance where he’d violated conditions of his supervision in relation to having contact with a minor without an approved chaperone.

According to a report authored by sex offender treatment provider Don H. Cho, Martinez said he transferred the firearm in an effort to comply with the terms of his supervised release, removing it from the house.  

Martinez was initially listed as “compliant and cooperative” in a June report authored by Community Corrections Officer Miguel Santos, who recommended a weekend of jail confinement. The report also states Martinez completed a sexual deviancy evaluation and had enrolled in an educational program aimed to assist justice-involved individuals. He was also seeking employment and working with an employment program that assists convicted felons.

Santos reported in October that his previous sanction recommendation was a mistake; that the recommendations would have been appropriate for an offender in community custody. Martinez is not in community custody, but on supervised release pending appeal of his case.

“Mr. Martinez is one of those offenders who does not believe he has a sexual deviancy problem. It is important that he be sanctioned by the court,” Santos wrote in an Oct. 3 report.

Mestel filed an addendum authored by Cho on Oct. 7 that identified Martinez as at low risk for future acts of sexual misconduct.

“Based on all of the current data made available to this evaluator, Mr. Martinez’s current risk for future acts of sexual misconduct is moderate, however, based on the sex offender specific treatment that Mr. Martinez has had with this evaluator to date, his current threat of future acts of sexual misconduct is considered low at this time,” the addendum states.

Martinez was released from jail on Oct. 10, and placed back on a supervised release pending his appeal. The conditions of his release were amended to include a provision that he not possess or view images of the victim in his case, as he had reportedly found some images on an old phone. He was ordered to deliver all depictions of the victim to his attorney by Oct. 12.