December 12, 2023 (Joshua Tree, Calif.) – Yesterday, a jury in the Superior Court of San Bernardino County, Joshua Tree District, acquitted Mr. Pedro Martinez of Hesperia, California, finding him not guilty on all 10 counts of child sexual and abuse while serving as a custodian at Maple Elementary in Hesperia. An 11th count was dismissed mid-trial.
Read article from The Washington Post.
After a three-and-a-half-month-long trial, the jury found that Mr. Martinez was not guilty of the crimes of which he was accused.
Mr. Martinez, who has been incarcerated since January 22, 2019, has been released.
According to criminal defense trial attorney Ian Wallach, “Magdalena Serna, a mentally ill woman who was repeatedly abusing a child, deflected attention to a school janitor by falsely claiming the child made fantastical allegations concerning several children. Sadly, her allegations were believed true by San Bernadino County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Womelsdorf. The deputy never interviewed the boy. The deputy then interviewed the other children named by Ms. Serna and all denied abuse. He then abandoned all training and interrogated a six-year-old child with leading and suggestive questions to affirm the hysterical allegations. The child continued to deny that abuse happened, but after thirty minutes, the boy acquiesced, and provided answers that, although nonsensical, suggested abuse occurred. None of the child’s statements matched those of Ms. Serna. Had the boy been interviewed by anyone with proper training in child forensic interviewing, Mr. Martinez would never have been charged and the woman who made the allegations would have been properly investigated. And had Ms. Serna been investigated, the details of her multiple prior identical allegations against others and her prior criminal history for elder abuse would have been discovered. Further, her eventual criminal prosecution for abusing the child she was claiming to protect would have been discovered. The refusal to investigate Ms. Serna is reprehensible. And why Mr. Martinez wasn’t released once this evidence came to light is appalling. Lead Detective, Josette Tracy seems to have decided that to protect her colleague from embarrassment, Mr. Martinez was expendable.”
“San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department failed multiple children, failed Mr. Martinez, and failed the Hesperia community. The jury saw this plain as day. Why the Sheriff’s Department and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office could not and did not is appalling. Accusations of child molestation are extremely serious and we expect law enforcement to respond swiftly. However, we expect law enforcement to act with integrity and professionalism at every step. We expect compliance with training and protocol, we expect accountability for errors, and we expect thorough investigations. Law enforcement is not supposed to endorse witch hunts at all costs and get carried away with panic, pride, and self-preservation. That is precisely what happened here. Mr. Martinez waited five years for a level-headed evaluation of this case and the jury delivered. It is chilling that with such a stark lack of corroborating evidence, law enforcement pressed forward, labeling an innocent man a ‘monster’ and endorsing the rantings of a clearly troubled woman. Despite the Court severely limiting the evidence we sought to introduce at trial, the truth bubbled through. Thankfully, the jury had the courage and where-with-all to do what should have been done five years ago. Justice, although delayed, was indeed served.” said Katherine McBroom, co-counsel for Mr. Martinez and founding partner of Kaedian LLP.
Nancy Gray, of Gray & Associates Law Offices P.C., was also an essential part of the defense team.
BACKGROUND
Mr. Martinez was arrested and jailed in January 2019 following claims of sexual and physical abuse against several then-six-year-old boys at Maple Elementary School, as alleged by Magdalena Serna, the then-girlfriend of the mother of one of the boys and a known abuser with a criminal record.
San Bernadino County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Womelsdorf, who lacked specialized training, spoke with three boys who denied any wrongdoing by Mr. Martinez. He separated the boys, and seemingly prompted or coerced one of them to agree that some abuse happened. That is the extent of the evidence.
Subsequent interviews with school employees established that the alleged misconduct could not have occurred on school grounds and that Mr. Martinez is a man of good character. Forensic testing, including DNA analyses and Sexual Assault Nurse examinations returned negative results.
Despite this significant lack of evidence and more, Mr. Martinez was arrested on January 22, 2019 and has remained in custody ever since. Following delays due to Covid and multiple requests for delays by Deputy District Attorney Deena Pribble with the Office of the District Attorney for the County of San Bernadino, trial began on August 29, 2023.
Today, Mr. Martinez is home with his family.
