Local teacher receives decades-long sentence for sexually abusing child
A former Coachella Valley Unified School District teacher who repeatedly sexually assaulted a child was bound for state prison today to serve a sentence of 36 years to life behind bars.
Luis Alfonso Martinez, 43, of La Quinta, was convicted last month of two counts each of lewd acts on a minor and oral copulation of a child under 10 years old, as well as one count of committing multiple lewd acts on an underage victim. Jurors acquitted him of distributing explicit material to a minor.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jerry Yang on Friday convened a sentencing hearing that originally had been scheduled for Monday. It was unclear whether the hearing was moved up due to scheduling conflicts announced by the prosecution or defense.
Sheriff's officials on Monday received orders confirming Martinez's transfer to the state penitentiary, and the process of relocating him began Tuesday.
The defendant was arrested in August 2021 following a sheriff's department investigation that spanned nearly a month. According to court records, it was initiated after the victim contacted detectives in the wake of psychological counseling stemming from the sexual abuse, which occurred when the girl was between 5 and 9 years old, from October 2010 to October 2014.
The prosecution said Martinez routinely digitally penetrated the victim and fondled her.
She did not relate any of the abuse to her mother at the time but did mention it to her sister, though in vague terms, the brief stated.
Prior to Martinez's arrest, detectives arranged a "pretext phone call'' during which the victim contacted the defendant and confronted him about his encounters with her. According to court papers, the then-educator did not admit or deny anything, remaining largely silent throughout the conversation.
The victim did not attend any of his classes at John Kelley Elementary School in Thermal, prosecutors said.
He had no documented prior felony convictions.
