Napa County

Serial Child Molester Sentenced to 197 Years to Life in State Prison

A gavel rests on a desk in this undated photo.
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A 36-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars, sentenced Friday in Napa County after being found guilty on numerous counts of child molestation charges.

On Friday, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haney announced that Flemin Fernando Martinez was sentenced to 197 years to life in state prison by Napa County Superior Court Judge Mark Boessenecker. Boessenecker also awarded $715,000 in non-economic damages to Martinez's victims and their families.

On April 20, following a six-day jury trial, a Napa County jury found Martinez guilty of 12 counts of a lewd act upon a child, two counts of oral copulation with a child 10 years old or under, one count of forcible rape of a child over 14. one count of using a minor for sex acts, and one count of possession of matter depicting a minor engaging in sexual conduct.

The convictions were the result of sexual contact that Martinez had with three family members and one friend between 2011 and 2019 in Napa County. The survivors were between seven and 16 years old at the time of the molestations.

The investigation by the Napa Police Department was prompted by a close friend of one survivor reporting the disclosure of sexual abuse to a family member who was also a school official.

Three of the survivors and their families were present at the sentencing hearing Friday.

All of the survivors addressed the court with impact statements either personally or via letters which were read aloud in court. One of the survivors who spoke at the sentencing stated,

"I shouldn't have felt embarrassed or ashamed or guilty about what you did, that's how you should feel, not me . . . I'm ready to let go of all of this. I'm ready to heal and grow and I'll be doing that with the people that love me."

The case was prosecuted by Napa County Deputy District Attorney Agnes Dziadur. Napa County Police Department Dets. Brandt Keown and Jason Barrera led the investigation.

Napa County District Attorney Investigator Sharon Fong assisted in the prosecution. Sexual Assault Victim Services provided advocacy for the survivors.

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