UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Feb. 26, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah County detectives have charged a suspect with 22 additional felonies after they executed a search warrant on his cell phone.
On Feb. 12, undercover detectives established social media contact with that suspect, identified as Richard Michael Martin, 29, of Riverton, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Martin believed he was talking to a woman who was the mother of 12- and 6-year-old girls. Martin described wanting to engage in sexual intercourse and oral sex with the 12-year-old and oral sex and digital penetration with the 6-year-old. Martin also said to the undercover detective he wanted the 12- and 6-year-old to perform oral sex on him.
On Feb. 14, Martin arranged to meet the undercover detective at a location in Utah County. During this contact, detectives interviewed Martin and he admitted the information he discussed in the two previous social media contacts regarding his desired actions with the 12- and 6-year-old girls.
“During their investigation detectives found that Martin was in possession of video recordings of extremely graphic child pornography involving very young children and infants,” the news release said. “Because of the quantity and nature of this material, detectives will refer portions of their investigation for possible federal charges.”
Martin was booked into the Utah County Jail on nine second-degree felony counts of enticing a minor by internet or text, with his bail set at $30,000.
During the initial part of that investigation, detectives with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, Special Victims Task Force, and detectives with Lehi Police Department, collected items belonging to Martin, including a cell phone, the news release said.
“As part of the ongoing investigation in this case detectives with Utah County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for that cell phone,” the news release said. “When that phone was examined detectives discovered numerous items of child pornography including videos and photographs.”
These videos and photos showed prepubescent boys and girls, some aged 4 to 6 years old. There were at least 10 downloaded videos depicting child pornography and 10 photographs depicting child pornography. Of those 10 photographs, four of them were downloaded to Martin’s phone, while six of them were photographs taken by Martin of a young, prepubescent female child.
During an interview with Martin detectives learned he had distributed pornographic images of this young female on at least two occasions. While Martin was already being held in jail on the previous charges with a bail amount of $30,000 cash or bond, he is now also being held on 22 second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Bail on those charges has been set at $50,000 cash or bond.
Total bail for Martin is now $80,000, officials said. This case remains active, the news release said.
Martin has a previous arrest for similar charges in Kentucky in 2009.
Scumbag like this need to rot in jail for life. 0 sympathy for a guy like this. To do this to innocent children you’d have to have no conscience at all.