YOUNGSTOWN Man gets jail time for sex with girl

Judge Cronin said the South Jackson Street man's conduct was disgusting.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Joel D. Martinez knew his friend's daughter was just 15 years old last October, but he had sex with her anyway.
Now the 21-year-old South Jackson Street man is going to jail and will spend time on probation.
"You ruined that young girl's life," Judge Maureen A. Cronin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court said to Martinez. "Her first sexual encounter should not have been with a married man who has two children."
She called Martinez's behavior disgusting.
The victim's father said that he knows Martinez from church and that Martinez had visited his home several times.
Martinez took the girl to a motel in Campbell after they'd met at Southern Park Mall in October, according to assistant prosecutor Dawn Krueger. The two had sex at least twice while at the motel.
Krueger said Martinez could not be charged with rape because the girl apparently consented to sex with him. He could not be charged with statutory rape because she is older than 13.
Charges
A county grand jury indicted him last year on one count of unlawful sexual contact with a minor, to which Martinez pleaded guilty in March. After a background check, the Ohio Adult Parole Authority recommended that Martinez be placed on probation.
Defense lawyer John Regginello said Martinez is a good person whose only brushes with the law until now were for playing music too loud.
"He has a downfall, and his downfall is that he is a passionate person," Regginello said. "His passion in this case was obviously misguided. This thing he did was just plain stupid. He's not denying that."
Martinez apologized to his family and to the victim's family.
"I just want to get back to my life," he said.
But Judge Cronin ordered him to first serve 30 days in the county jail, after which he will be on probation for two years. If he violates terms of his probation, he could be sent to prison for up to 17 months.
bjackson@vindy.com