The lawsuit, filed in Federal Court on Monday, December 2, 2024, alleges that agents of the County of San Bernadino Police department, the San Bernadino District Attorney’s Office, and others conspired for personal gain to keep Mr. Martinez in custody and prosecute him while knowing he was innocent. Mr. Martinez, represented by Ian Wallach and Katherine McBroom, was acquitted after a 3 and 1/2 month trial in Joshua Tree, California.
Plaintiffs accuse government agents of ignoring evidence, coercing children to produce inculpatory evidence, fabricating evidence, failing to supervise officers, failing to train officers, failing to intervene and other acts. The complaint also names Paul Matiasic, a civil attorney pursuing a claim against Mr. Martinez’s employer arising out of the false allegations, alleging that Mr. Matiasic tampered with evidence by using therapists for the purpose of convincing children, who had consistently denied being abused by the plaintiff, that they had been, in order to support and strengthen the value of his related civil case against Mr. Martinez’s employer.
The filing of Mr. Martinez’s complaint brought international coverage:
