A 34-year-old Sheriff’s Deputy in New Mexico pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a female that he arrested in his patrol vehicle in 2023.
Michael A. Martinez, 34, also tried to destroy the evidence, according to the Department of Justice.
“Police sexual violence targeting women in their custody are heinous crimes that have no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“This defendant weaponized his authority, exploited the power of his badge, handcuffed the victim and assaulted her in the backseat of his vehicle. We cannot and must not normalize police sexual violence and exploitation. We encourage survivors to find the courage to come forward and report these crimes to the FBI. The Justice Department stands ready to use our federal civil rights laws to seek justice and restitution for survivors of sexual misconduct by law enforcement officers and others who abuse their authority,” Clarke continued.
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According to Martinez’s plea agreement, at the time of the offense, the man worked as sheriff’s deputy for the Doña Ana Sheriff’s Office in Doña Ana County, New Mexico.
On April 30, 2023, Martinez responded to a car accident and placed the victim under arrest for driving while intoxicated and careless driving.
Martinez transported the victim to a medical center, and after the victim received medical clearance, he handcuffed her hands behind her back and put her back inside his patrol car, where he began sexually assaulting her.
Afterward, he transported her to the Doña Ana Detention Center.
Several hours later, Martinez attempted to physically destroy his patrol car’s WatchGuard DVR system, which is the patrol car’s internal video camera system that, among other things, records and stores footage from the patrol car’s backseat camera.
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Martinez correctly believed that the DVR system contained a video recording of him sexually assaulting the victim in the backseat of his patrol car and attempted to destroy and conceal that recording from any future investigation.
Martinez faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and up to three years of supervised release. In addition, Martinez must pay restitution to the victim and, upon release, adhere to state and federal sex offender registration requirements.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
A sentencing hearing will be set at a later date.
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