Resigned APS Deputy Superintendent faces 6 child sex charges, never completed background check

Former Albuquerque Public Schools Deputy Superintendent Jason Martinez, who resigned from APS Thursday two months into his tenure, faces six child sexual assault charges in Colorado and did not complete a required APS background check before his resignation.

Martinez is set for a pretrial hearing in Denver Oct. 2 and a jury trial Oct. 9 on the charges. He was arrested in July 2013.

Three of the charges contained in a criminal complaint obtained by KOB through online court records said Martinez, whose real first name is Timothy, had sexual contact with a boy under the age of 15 between May 1, 2012 and June 27, 2013 and had a “pattern of sexual abuse” of the child.

Other charges say he had sexual contact with a boy between 15 and 18 years old.

An affidavit and arrest warrant for Martinez from 2013 says the victim told a Denver detective Martinez had “been touching people” and said that Martinez would watch him shower. The victim also said Martinez put lotion on him five times after he showered.

The victim also told detectives Martinez had made him touch his “private spot” while in a Las Vegas hotel room and made him put lotion on his groin.

The criminal complaint charges Martinez with two counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, one count of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust – pattern of abuse, one count of sexual assault on a child with a pattern of abuse, and two counts of sexual assault on a child.

All six charges are felony counts.

He also faces a felony assault with a deadly weapon charge from January of this year, and was arrested on a warrant a month later for failing to appear in court, according to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation background check. Those charges required him to submit to a restraining order.

Martinez was named District Leader of the Year for Denver Public Schools by Denver’s Data Quality Campaign in 2010.

APS ADDRESSES CHARGES, LACK OF BACKGROUND CHECK

APS says it learned of the charges Friday.

“I was surprised to learn of these charges and certainly would never have offered Mr. Martinez employment with the district if I had known,” said APS Superintendent Dr. Luis Valentino. “I regret that decision.”

APS background check policy states “Albuquerque Public Schools shall conduct background checks, based upon fingerprint identification, of all prospective employees.”

It also requires prospective employees to report alleged ethical misconduct, including “inappropriate touching, sexual harassment, discrimination and behavior intended to induce a child into engaging in

illegal, immoral or other prohibited behavior.”

The penalty for failing to report such misconduct is also outlined:

“The secretary may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew the license of a local superintendent, charter school administrator or regional education cooperative director who fails to report as required…”

Valentino said the district is reviewing its hiring processes, which will include stricter enforcement of the background check policy before any employee begins work.

Martinez cited personal and family commitments as reasons for his resignation Thursday, which is effective Friday.

Martinez was brought in by Valentino in June. He had previously worked for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – a publishing house – as well as in an instruction and technology administrator capacity at Denver Public Schools.

He got caught up in an exchange between Valentino and Don Moya over an RFP intended to assess the district’s information technology systems that were offered to a disgraced former DPS employee he had previously worked with in Denver.

Moya was placed on administrative leave Aug. 7 after he was accidentally sent a message by Valentino saying Valentino was “going to go after” Moya for having too much say in the district’s finances.

Originally published at KOB.com