A 20-year city police officer was ordered held on $250,000 cash or surety after he pleaded innocent Monday to 25 counts of sexual crimes involving three victims, including two of his biological daughters.
Assistant District Attorney John Compton had asked for bail of $250,000 cash, with no surety option, saying Pedro J. Martinez faces such long sentences if convicted that he has an incentive to flee.
Raipher D. Pellegrino, Martinez's lawyer, asked that he remain free on the $25,000 bail set in District Court when Martinez was arraigned on three counts of forcible rape of a child and three counts of incest.
"He maintains his innocence," Pellegrino said.
Hampden Superior Court Judge Bertha D. Josephson said that the court must make bail decisions on the likelihood of a defendant to appear in court if released on bail, and added the surety option to Compton's request.
If Martinez is released he will be on electronic monitoring with a zero curfew as he has been since release on bail on the District Court charges, and he must have no contact with the victims.
A pre-trial hearing will be held July 21.
Outside the courtroom after the arraignment, Springfield police Special Victims Unit Lt. Cheryl C. Clapprood said the investigation was very difficult in part because "we have known him for so long."
She said that the man before the court Monday is not the man fellow officers thought they knew.
Clapprood said she was not sure whether there would be any more victims coming forward, but she expects there will be more evidence. The third victim is a female who lived in Martinez' house for a time, she said.
She said the investigation encompasses events as far back as 1985.
_________________
More Information & Video: http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/41710282.html
Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/02/officer-pedro-martinez-arrested-for.html
No comments:
Post a Comment