EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) — A club wrestling coach arrested over the weekend for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl was convicted years ago of raping a 14-year-old girl but received a suspended sentence in that case and was only required to register as a sex offender for a maximum of five years, according to court records detailing the case.
Joseph Dion Martinez, 27, was booked into the Oklahoma County jail February 2 on five counts of second-degree rape and one count of forcible oral sodomy and was being held as of Wednesday on $75,000 bond.
Police say a 15-year-old girl's father found a secret cell phone in her bedroom last month and found explicit messages, pictures and videos between the girl and Martinez. According to court documents, the girl told investigators Martinez began conversing with the girl on Instagram and Snapchat, and eventually gave the girl a second cell phone to continue talking with Martinez, despite having a phone curfew set by her parents.
"There's some messages and pictures in the phone that made him believe they had sexual intercourse at Lake Arcadia, so obviously that's our jurisdiction," Edmond Police Spokesperson Jenny Wagnon said Tuesday afternoon, detailing Martinez' arrest. "There were also other incidents. One in Clinton. The suspect lives in Logan county, so we’ve also had an incident in Oklahoma City. Throughout this initial part of the investigation, we have multiple jurisdictions that are involved."
Legally, children under 16 years of age cannot legally consent to sexual activity with an adult.
According to court documents, the girl traveled to Clinton with Martinez, where Martinez was coaching at a wrestling tournament. News 4 can now confirm that Martinez was involved as a coach with a metro wrestling club.
Numerous calls, emails, text messages and correspondence via social media with the club's organizing body in the state, Oklahoma Kids Wrestling Association, and its directors have been received but not returned.
It's unclear how long Martinez has been involved with wrestling clubs in the state, or who knew about his history, which was easily found with a few clicks through online court and Department of Corrections records.
After Martinez' arrest, News 4 learned his has a similar criminal past. Martinez pleaded guilty in May 2012 to second degree rape after he was accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl in Porum, Oklahoma. Martinez, 20 years old and an adult at the time of the rape, told a McIntosh County investigator the sex was consensual.
Martinez was originally given a five-year suspended sentence and required to register as a sex offender. However, nearly six months later, the sentence and judgement was amended and signed off by a judge and prosecutor, according to court records obtained by News 4, requiring Martinez to register as a sex offender for a maximum of five years as a Level 1 offender, or a person who is deemed to pose a low danger to the community and not likely to engage in criminal sexual conduct.
However, the reason why the sentence was amended and the sex offender registration requirement was capped at five years is still unknown. The McIntosh County District Attorney at the time, Oliver Robert Barris, died last year. News 4's calls and emails to the acting district attorney, as well as other prosecutors connected to the case went unreturned. When News 4 contacted the defense attorney who represented Martinez, Debbie Johnson, she told News 4 she didn't remember the case.
