Jerry Lee Martinez (KIII).
Texas officials say a dad raped his 17-year-old daughter, who then became pregnant with his child and had a miscarriage in a Walmart bathroom after he took her to Mexico to have an abortion.
Jerry Lee Martinez, 45, now faces a sexual assault of a child charge, jail records show. He was previously charged with abandoning or endangering a child with criminal negligence along with tampering with a witness and tampering with physical evidence.
Local ABC affiliate KIII obtained an arrest affidavit that said Martinez”s daughter told detectives that her father began “touching her inappropriately” when she was 15 years old. The affidavit reportedly alleged that Martinez assaulted the minor several times over the last two years and she became pregnant with his child.
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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.
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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.
