A Pedophile from Anthony, Mark Martinez, previously convicted of aggravated sexual assault against a prepubescent child, was sentenced today in a federal court in El Paso to life imprisonment plus 10 years for producing, possessing, and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), and committing a sex offence as a registered sex offender.
Court filings reveal that Mark Martinez, 57, was discovered distributing CSAM within a group on the social messaging platform Kik. Mark Martinez was convicted in 1991 for the sexual abuse of an eight-year-old kid and, as of 2022, was living at an undisclosed address to his registration officer.
In August 2022, FBI investigators conducted a search warrant, confiscating many electronic devices that contained photographs and videos of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). One of the devices contained several photographs shot at his apartment in July, featuring a female roughly five to six years of age. The smartphone additionally housed a folder of videos featuring another underage female, downloaded from WhatsApp. A distinct device disclosed conversations on the messaging application Telegram, whereby Mark Martinez confessed to sexually assaulting a kid. Agents uncovered roughly 2,391 photographs and 138 films of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on a single device, several of which depicted prepubescent youngsters. Mark Martinez’s mobile held around 50 additional CSAM photos.
A criminal complaint and arrest warrant for Mark Martinez were issued in October 2022. Martinez had previously absconded to Mexico without notifying his registration officer and was apprehended at the Columbus Port of Entry in New Mexico upon his return on March 3, 2023. On March 22, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted Mark Martinez. On August 21, 2024, he entered a guilty plea to all five charges.
“Placing this child predator behind bars for the rest of his life makes certain this predator will never again harm another child,” said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. “The facts of this case are incredibly disturbing, and I thank all of our law enforcement partners for their work investigating this case, which led to this repeat offender’s ultimate conviction, and life imprisonment.”
“Mark Martinez is a dangerous sexual predator who preyed on our community’s most vulnerable victims- our children. This case highlights the disturbing reality of sexual exploitation, and the sentence ensures this predator will remain behind bars and unable to continue such atrocities physically and on the web,” said FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge John Morales. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our commitment to work together to ensure no child is victimized in this way.”
The FBI, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the Winnebago County Sherriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Valenzuela and Lori Hughes prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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