A lieutenant commander with the Navy‘s Fleet Readiness Heart Northwest in Washington state was arrested Wednesday for allegedly raping a youngster he paid for intercourse after assembly on an internet relationship app, based on an affidavit obtained by Army.com.
Lt. Cmdr. Lucas Jose Martinez, 61, was arrested March 13 for the alleged third-degree rape of a kid, business sexual abuse of a minor, and communication with a minor for immoral functions, the affidavit says.
Native police requested the sufferer’s age be left unspecified to guard their identification, however a third-degree rape cost within the state of Washington applies particularly to sexual activity carried out on a toddler between the ages of 14 and 16.
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Based on the court docket doc, Martinez and the boy met on a relationship app referred to as Sniffies, particularly for non-straight males. {The teenager}’s profile said that he was 18 and didn’t embrace an image of his face, the affidavit stated. It included solely a photograph of the decrease half of his physique and a bio saying he was enthusiastic about cash.
It’s unclear precisely when the pair first met in individual, based on the doc, however messages between Martinez and the teenager present they initially matched on-line in November. In his first message to {the teenager}, Martinez reportedly stated, “Hello there, would you be enthusiastic about assembly up with a really daddy?”
Police consider the pair met in individual Dec. 12. After texts had been despatched suggesting they meet that day, Martinez allegedly texted the boy that night time, saying, “It was wonderful, child. Hopefully you may meet up once more subsequent week once more or later this week [red heart emoji].” The teenager’s college district confirmed to police he had been absent from college earlier that day.
In a forensic youngster interview, the boy informed the interviewer that he was there as a result of he “had intercourse with an older man.” Based on the outline of the occasion detailed within the affidavit, the boy “was dwelling from college and the male, a ‘navy man,’ stated he’d give [the boy] cash in alternate for intercourse. He came visiting, that they had intercourse, the person gave [the boy] cash after which left.”
Based on the affidavit, Martinez allegedly paid {the teenager} $200 for the encounter, for which Martinez arrived sporting his inexperienced digital working uniform. Throughout the go to, police stated it “was doable” the boy informed Martinez he lived together with his mom.
After the encounter, the sufferer started to disregard and block Martinez’s calls and texts. Martinez then allegedly used totally different accounts and telephones to contact the teenager, together with a cellphone quantity belonging to Naval Data Warfare Programs Command, leaving voicemails through which he requested to be unblocked. The newest voicemail was left Feb. 8, the affidavit revealed. The doc additionally famous the cellphone’s service supplier listed the quantity as belonging to House and Naval Warfare Programs Command, the outdated identify of NAVWARSYSCOM, modified in 2019.
In his closing messages to the sufferer, Martinez allegedly stated he was planning to pay the boy $1,000 a month to maintain seeing him. All through their contact, Martinez had despatched the kid a number of footage of himself in uniform and informed him that he labored “in aviation,” after being requested whether or not he was a pilot, based on the affidavit.
Police had been first alerted to a doable crime Jan. 22, after the sufferer’s mom discovered a bundle with intercourse toys and costumes, which the boy stated got here from males sending him gadgets from his “Amazon wishlist.”
No crime had been established at that time, the affidavit stated, because the teeanger stated he had been speaking with males just for items.
On Feb. 9, the sufferer’s mom contacted police once more and stated her son had admitted {that a} man, recognized as “Lucas Martinezmendieta,” had paid him $200 for oral and anal intercourse whereas she had been at work. After reviewing messages between the pair and interviewing the kid, Martinez was arrested by police at his dwelling in Oak Harbor, Washington, positioned lower than 20 minutes away from Navy Fleet Readiness Heart Northwest.
After being learn his Miranda rights and informed he ought to maintain quiet till he spoke to an lawyer, the affidavit revealed Martinez allegedly informed police, “I by no means slept with a minor, not to mention rape.”
Regulation enforcement has been unable to verify whether or not the kid had met with different adults sexually, based on the court docket doc, however Martinez is the one man the teenager reported.
A spokesperson for Naval Air Programs Command, Marcia Hart, informed Army.com in an e mail that Martinez stays assigned to Fleet Readiness Heart Northwest in Washington, regardless of the affidavit noting he was planning on leaving the state the identical day he was arrested.
The Naval Prison Investigative Service informed police that Martinez owns a house in Maryland and was set to finish everlasting change-of-duty station orders, based on the affidavit.
Whereas this made Martinez a flight threat, the doc stated, he has since been launched on bail, based on the Skagit County Jail database.
When requested for additional remark, Hart stated the Navy could be deferring subsequent strikes to native authorities. “The native authorities have jurisdiction, and we don’t touch upon ongoing investigations,” she stated. “However we’re offering assist as required.”
— Rachel Nostrant is a Marine Corps veteran and freelance journalist, with work printed in Reuters, New York Journal, Army Occasions and extra.
