Texas officials say a father raped his 17-year-old daughter, who later became pregnant with his child and miscarried in a Walmart bathroom after he took her to Mexico for an abortion.
Jerry Lee Martinez, 45, is now facing a sexual assault charge against a child, according to jail records. He had previously been charged with abandoning or endangering a child through criminal negligence, as well as tampering with witnesses and physical evidence.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by local ABC affiliate KIII, Martinez’s daughter told detectives that when she was 15 years old, her father began “touching her inappropriately”.
According to the affidavit, Martinez assaulted the minor several times over the last two years, after which she became pregnant with his child.
According to police, Martinez repeatedly punched the girl in the stomach after discovering she was pregnant. According to the affidavit, he drove the girl to Mexico last Monday to have an abortion. She allegedly miscarried in the Walmart bathroom in Kingsville that night and threw the child away.
Walmart employees discovered the baby and called police, who later stopped Martinez and the teen in their vehicle. Martinez was arrested, and the girl was transported to a “secure location,” according to police.
According to local NBC affiliate KRIS, Martinez’s stepfather, Mario Duran, 60, is also charged with sexual assault.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Walmart employees called Kingsville police shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Monday after discovering a newborn in a trash can in the bathroom. Employees were performing life-saving procedures on the baby, who was then transported to a nearby hospital, according to police. Doctors declared the infant dead, according to a press release.
Cops reviewed surveillance footage, which showed the 17-year-old girl walking into the bathroom. After about 40 minutes inside, she allegedly exited and went to her car in the parking lot. It took the employees about 30 minutes to find the baby.
Around 11 p.m., officers stopped the teen and Martinez in their vehicle.
“We extend our deepest condolences to all those affected by this tragic event,” police said in a statement.
Kingsville is located approximately 45 miles southwest of Corpus Christi. Martinez and his family live in Mathis, which is about 50 miles north of Kingsville.
Martinez remains in Kleberg County Jail on a $600,000 bond.
