DA’s office brings in conviction against repeat child sex predator

By Brandi Makuski

Exactly one year after his bail hearing, a sexual predator on Feb. 23 was convicted as a repeat offender of child sex assault.

Michael D. Martin, 46, was found guilty by a jury following a three-day trial ending Friday. He was charged last February with first-degree sex assault of a child under the age of 13.

The victim, identified in court records only as a female born in 2001, came forward in early 2017 alleging Martin sexually abused her several times at his Town of Grant home between 2007 and 2012.

Martin would then appease the girl’s silence by bringing her gifts and building her a new playhouse, according to court records. 

Martin was previously convicted of engaging in repeat sexual acts with a child, and second-degree child sex assault, and had been sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Thomas Flugaur in 1999.

The jury deliberated for about eight hours, according to District Attorney Louis Molepske, and included testimony from 10 witnesses, including the victim. The case was being tried by Assistant District Attorney Cass Cousins.

Martin returns to Flugaur’s court for sentencing on Friday, March 2 at 1 PM. He face a sentence of mandatory life imprisonment.