Convicted Child Molestor Back In Custody

A child molester who fled the county to avoid sentencing was behind bars today, a sheriff’s corporal said.

Hector Barron Martinez, 44, was arrested Monday afternoon by members of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Fugitive Warrant Enforcement Team in the 27000 block of Seventh Street in Highland, in San Bernardino County.

Officers took him into custody for an outstanding felony warrant for lewd and lascivious acts with a child, issued out of Riverside Superior Court in Indio.

Martinez was convicted Aug. 3 of a lewd act with a child under 14, with a sexual conduct with a minor enhancement.

His sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 16 and he did not appear, causing Judge Ronald L. Johnson to issue a $100,000 bench warrant, according to court records.

Martinez was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where he is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.