Trial starts for former Monroe officer

The trial of former Monroe Police Sgt. Carlos Martinez began last week before Judge Michael T. Downes in Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett.

Prosecutors alleged Martinez, 61, used his position as a police officer to cultivate a sexual relationship with a teenage girl, who was 14 when the abuse first began. Initially, Martinez told investigators he'd known the girl "her whole lifeGÇ¥ and was acquainted with the girl's family through his job as a police officer. He began interacting with her on a regular basis when he became the girl's DARE officer in 2000.

When she was 13 years old, she became the primary babysitter for Martinez and his then-wife, Julie's, two children in Monroe. It was about a year or two later, the prosecution alleges, that the relationship between the girl and Martinez became something more.

The defense alleges the relationship between Martinez and the girl didn't turn sexual until after she turned 18, and they began a consensual relationship.

The two moved to Texas in 2009, where they lived together for about two years, until the girl went to the San Antonio Police with two VHS tapes with nude images of her as a 15-year-old given to her by Martinez. She said the former Monroe officer filmed her without her knowledge.

Martinez is being charged with two counts of voyeurism and one count of possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit activity. According to court documents, earlier charges of child molestation in the third degree and rape of a child were removed due to the statute of limitations.

Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Paul addressed the jurors first during opening arguments on Thursday, outlining the specifics of the state's case. Martinez was a Monroe Police officer for 20 years, until being placed on administrative leave and allowed to retire in 2009.-á

"He was a very public figure in that community,GÇ¥ Paul said. "He was well-liked, he was charismatic, he had a forceful personality and most of the people in that community regarded him highly.GÇ¥

Paul said Martinez became acquainted with the girl when she was 10 and 11 years old, serving as her DARE officer in the fourth and fifth grade. Once the girl turned 13, Paul said Martinez took her on a tour of the Monroe police station, which is when he approached her about babysitting. Paul described her as quiet, shy and retiring, without a lot of friends.-á -á

The alleged victim, now 26, was the youngest of nine children, and grew up in the Laestadian Lutheran Chruch, a conservative Christian congregation with rigid beliefs, Paul said. Things like movies, music, dancing and makeup were strictly prohibited. Paul said the girl welcomed Martinez's attention and that while she was babysitting Martinez would build up her confidence with compliments, telling her she was cute and smart.-á -á

The prosecution zeroed in on a week in May 2004, when Martinez's wife traveled to Spain. The girl was allegedly at Martinez's home several times during the week, despite his wife telling him she did not want the teen babysitting for them anymore.

"The reasons being that his wife could see that when this young girl was babysitting in their family, interacting with her husband, that there was something hugely inappropriate about it,GÇ¥ Paul said. "She didn't like what she saw.GÇ¥

The prosecution alleges that was the week Martinez hid several cameras in the downstairs bathroom in his home, for the purpose of recording the young girl in various stages of undress. She allegedly came over frequently that week, one day bringing a green bikini she had purchased at Fred Meyer, at Martinez's request.

Paul rebuked the defense's argument that the cameras were set up by Martinez because he was concerned for the girl, after she told him she had cut her stomach while on another babysitting job. The defense argues he positioned the cameras as a way to find out if the girl was really cut and not for sexual gratification.

"You'll be able to tell from the evidence that that is not true,GÇ¥ Paul said, arguing Martinez had seen the girl in a bikini and would have clearly been able to determine whether or not she was cut. She questioned why Martinez would set up hidden cameras rather than contact the girl's mother with his concerns.

It was also during that week that the alleged "Schindler's ListGÇ¥ incident occurred, during which the victim alleged sexual contact occurred while she and Martinez were watching the film. A "love noteGÇ¥ penned by the alleged victim was left at Martinez's home and found by his wife upon her return.

Defense attorney Mark Mestel said it was the girl who approached Martinez and asked if she could babysit for him. He said that over time, the girl began to exhibit "weird behavior,GÇ¥ including making a series of odd claims that Martinez felt were untrue, like when she informed him and his wife she had cut herself in the stomach.-á

"Carlos was concerned that she was not only exhibiting these weird behaviors, but that she was now involved in cutting ' something that is not that unusual for troubled teenagers,GÇ¥ Mestel said.

The cameras were not set up for the purpose of sexual gratification, Mestel said, but out of concern. He denied that there was sexual contact during the "Schindler's ListGÇ¥ incident and said all they had done was watch part of the film together.

"There is no touching of any sexual nature,GÇ¥ Mestel said.

Mestel confirmed the two reconnected once the girl was over the age of 18, but it was the girl who aggressively pursued Martinez, asking him if she could come to Texas with him. While in Texas, Martinez became her "sugar daddy,GÇ¥ paying for everything, including rent and food, Mestel said, and went to the police because she was upset when Martinez kicked her out.

He said the investigation was turned over to the Washington State Patrol because the girl reached out to a WSP officer who was involved in her family's church, alleging the investigation was done with little concern as to whether the girl was telling the truth.

"Because the state patrol really wasn't interested in determining who this girl was,GÇ¥ Mestel said. "They now believed that they had a bad cop, and they were going to do whatever was necessary to prove it.GÇ¥

Mestel said that even meant coaching the girl on what to say, so their case would be strong.

Martinez's ex-wife, Julie West, took the stand Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. During her testimony, she said the young girl became more than just a babysitter, stopping by their house frequently, which West found odd. She estimated that it was 2002 when the babysitting started, adding she didn't really care for the girl.

"I felt uncomfortable around her,GÇ¥ West said. "I was looking for somebody to be a babysitter, which was not somebody who was part of our family. And I felt like she was forced into our family, and I never understood why.GÇ¥-á -á

In 2004, after she returned from Spain and allegedly found the "love note,GÇ¥ West said she told the girl to never come back.

"I finally told her she was not welcome at our house and she couldn't come back to visit or babysit,GÇ¥ West said. "I'd had enough and I didn't want her back.GÇ¥

West described how she discovered video of the girl getting out of the shower on their home computer, when Martinez was out of town in early 2006, and drove to eastern Washington to confront him about it. West said the two discussed it, and Martinez told her he had been trying to see if the girl was cut. West forced him to delete the video a few days later, testifying that prior to its deletion, Martinez told her "it was nice to look at.GÇ¥

Paul asked her how she felt when he said that.

"It made me want to throw up,GÇ¥ West said.

Paul asked her how she feels about Martinez currently.

"The divorce makes me very sad,GÇ¥ West said. "And I don't have any more feelings for Mr. Martinez, one way or the other.GÇ¥

The alleged victim took the stand Friday, testifying to multiple incidents of sexual contact that occurred when she was around 14. She described an alleged incident in the kitchen, admitting she felt good about Martinez touching her at the time.

She became visibly upset at times during her testimony, fighting back tears as she described contact between herself and Martinez, including one night when she stayed at their house after babysitting. She alleged Martinez and West arrived home late, and she was pretending to sleep in his daughter's room. She said Martinez got into the bed and fondled her briefly and then left the room.

"I was confused, scared, felt a lot of guilt,GÇ¥ she said. "Because I knew what just happened was wrong.GÇ¥

She recalled purchasing the green bikini at Fred Meyer in 2004, but said she did not know she was being recorded during the week the videos were made. She said Martinez would encourage her to use the shower in his home.

"He would tell me I should go get squeaky clean,GÇ¥ she said.

Testimony continued on Monday, Oct. 26. The trial is expected to last two weeks.