BENTON COUNTY, WA – The Court of Appeals has affirmed the convictions of Alejandro S. Martinez and Eduardo S. Martinez for Rape of a Child, according to a Facebook post by Benton County Prosecutors Office.
According to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, On September 28, 1998, Benton County Sheriff Detectives initiated a sexual abuse investigation for allegations of rape of two children, who at the time were six-year-old and seven years old.
Eduardo S. Martinez and his brother Alejandro S. Martinez were suspects in the case as the persons responsible for sexually assaulting the children on multiple occasions during the timeframe of September and October 1995.
Detectives were able to locate the suspects living in Prosser and we’re only able to interview Alejandro Martinez, who gave a confession to assaulting one of the children. Detectives were not able to locate Eduardo Martinez and both suspects left Washington state and arrest warrants were issued for their arrest.
The Benton County sheriff’s office was contacted by Norwalk Connecticut police detectives in February of 2019 saying they contacted Eduardo S. Martinez according to a vehicle accident in their jurisdiction.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest warrant for Eduardo S. Martinez as well as Alejandro S. Martinez. Both Alejandro Martinez and Eduardo Martinez were located in arrested at a residence in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Eduardo Martinez and Alejandro Martinez were booked in the Benton County jail to face the 1995 rape of a child in the first-degree charges.
On September 30, 2019, a trial was initiated for the Martinez brothers. The trial was completed on October 9 and the case went to the jury for deliberations. On the morning of October 10, Eduardo S. Martinez was convicted of two counts of rape of a child in the first degree, and Alejandro S. Martinez was convicted of one count of a repeat of a child in the second degree
Benton County Prosecutors Office, “This was a challenging case, as the two defendants absconded from the state after the rapes. Because of this, the trials did not take place until years later,” it said on a Facebook post. “Of course, the major credit goes to the courage and memory of the two victims who testified in Court years after the fact. Deputy Prosecutor Laurel Holland did an excellent job at trial and Deputy Prosecutor Terry Bloor’s appellate work helped affirm the convictions.”
The Benton County Prosecutors Office wants to recognize Commander Lee Cantu from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the prosecutor’s office, his excellent initial investigation provided important corroboration of the testimony of the victims. He was still a detective when the defendants were finally arrested out of state, and his memory and earlier detailed documentation of the case was key to the convictions.
Also, the Court of Appeals relied heavily on his testimony on cross-examination to resolve a complicated legal challenge to the prosecutor’s use of evidence of consciousness of guilt by the defense, which included arguments about Latino culture and the use of names.
Lee Cantu’s explanations of the different uses of names convinced the Court of Appeals that the State’s argument of consciousness of guilt was appropriate.
