A man was convicted to 610 years in prison in Southern California after being found guilty of molesting a 6-year-old child.
Travis Edward Martin, 37, of Santa Paula, was sentenced on Nov. 8 in Ventura County for seven counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child, according to a news release issued by local authorities.
He is also convicted of using a child for the production of pornography and of possession of child pornography.
Martin first molested the child in 2019 when the child was 4 years old, and the crimes continued until 2021 when the child was six. The crimes occurred in both Ventura County and Orange County, and Martin was already convicted as a child molester, according to the news release.
The sentencing was announced by Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko, on Nov. 9, and it was given by Ventura County Superior Court Judge David Worley one day earlier. A Ventura County jury found Martin guilty on all counts and special allegations on Oct. 3.
“We are pleased with the jury’s verdict and the judge’s sentence in this case, which accurately reflects the harm caused by the defendant’s horrific crimes,” said Supervising Deputy District Attorney Rafael Orellana, who prosecuted the case.
“The 610 years to life sentence will serve to protect our community and demonstrates that there is zero tolerance for the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.”
KTLA reported that Martin was arrested for similar crimes in 2006 and was known as a volunteer at a Ventura church.
FBI Warning
The FBI this month issued a public service announcement warning about criminal actors using rideshare vehicles to kidnap minor victims.
Though the prevalence of such incidents is rare, the FBI issued the warning due to the “high impact of such events,” the agency stated.
The FBI said it had received several reports of child abductions using rideshare services since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though other transportation modes like public buses were also used for abductions, ridesharing afforded these criminals more privacy from potential witnesses.
Internet Crimes Against Children
In California, a five-county enforcement effort targeting internet crimes against children netted 141 arrests, authorities said on Sept. 14, 2022.
“Operation Protect the Innocent” was conducted Sept. 6-12 by personnel from the Los Angeles Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which includes more than five dozen law enforcement agencies, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
The task force receives cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that involve the possession, distribution, and manufacturing of child sexual abuse material and the sexual exploitation of children through the internet.
“In 2019, the Los Angeles task force … received 8,525 cyber tip leads [of] online and other sources of suspected child abuse, of child sexual abuse material,” said LAPD chief Michel Moore. “In 2020 that number had grown to more than 24,000, nearly three times.
“This year, in 2022, already by Sept. 12, we have exceeded 25,000 tips and leads,” Moore said. “These cyber tip reports we believe will reach in excess of 36,000 by the end of this year.”
Naveen Athrappully, Katabella Roberts, and City News Service contributed to this report.
