Jerry Lee Martinez (KIII).
Authorities in Texas report that a father committed the crime of raping his 17-year-old daughter, resulting in her pregnancy with his child. Tragically, she suffered a miscarriage in a Walmart restroom after he took her to Mexico for an abortion.
Jerry Lee Martinez, aged 45, is now being charged with the sexual assault of a minor, as per jail records. Earlier charges against him included endangering or abandoning a child due to criminal negligence, as well as tampering with a witness and evidence.
A report from the local ABC affiliate KIII revealed an arrest affidavit stating that Martinez’s daughter informed detectives that her father began “inappropriately touching her” at the age of 15. The affidavit further alleges that Martinez assaulted her on multiple occasions over the past two years, leading to her pregnancy.
When he learned the girl was pregnant, Martinez repeatedly punched her in the stomach, according to cops. He drove the girl to Mexico last Monday to have an abortion, per the affidavit. She allegedly had a miscarriage in the Walmart bathroom in Kingsville that night and then threw the child in the trash.
Walmart employees found the baby and called police, who later spotted Martinez and the teen and stopped their vehicle. Martinez was arrested while the girl was taken to a “secure location,” cops said.
Local NBC affiliate KRIS reported that Martinez’s stepfather, 60-year-old Mario Duran, is also facing sexual assault charges.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Walmart employees called Kingsville police shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Monday after they found a newborn in a trash can in the bathroom. Employees were conducting lifesaving efforts on the baby, who was then transported to a local hospital, police said. Doctors pronounced the infant dead, according to a press release.
Cops looked at surveillance video, which showed the 17-year-old girl walking into the bathroom. After about 40 minutes inside, she allegedly came out and went to her car in the parking lot. Some 30 minutes passed before the employees found the baby.
At around 11 p.m., officers spotted the teen’s vehicle and stopped her and Martinez.
“We extend our deepest condolences to all affected by this tragic event,” police wrote in a statement.
Kingsville is located about 45 miles southwest of Corpus Christi. Martinez and his family live in Mathis which is some 50 miles north of Kingsville.
Martinez remains in the Kleberg County Jail on a $600,000 bond.
