After two days of testimony and seven hours of deliberation, a jury found a former law enforcement officer, Boy Scout leader and foster father guilty on nine counts and not guilty on eight counts.
At 6 a.m., the court issued a “gavel instruction,” instructing jurors that it is desirable to reach a decision in each case and that they should attempt to reach a verdict, according to the Missouri Bar Association.
Three victims testified against John Edwin Martin, also known as Ian, for abuse. Martin previously served as an officer with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, the Christian County Sheriff’s Office and the Stone County Sheriff’s Office.
Two witnesses were Martin’s foster children, and another was a Boy Scout in a group led by Martin. Det. James Stephenson, a personal crimes detective with the Republic Police Department, also testified about how the case against Martin was developed. There are 17 charges against Martin in all.
Six witnesses testified on Martin’s behalf, including his domestic partner, sister, adopted sons, and longtime friends. They testified that they had never witnessed abuse and that they did not believe that Martin would abuse children in his care.
A 17-year-old victim, L.A., said that in 2020, as a 13-year-old foster child in Martin’s care, Martin made him strip naked for tick checks after being outside, hit him on the butt with a paddle, and cheered him on and watched while shaving his testicles. LA said he told friends in his Boy Scout troop about the allegations as a way to express sympathy, not as a way to report the abuse. The jury found Martin not guilty on all four counts in LA’s case.
The defense argued that the minor made the allegations so he could see his biological family and that LA testified out of a desire for attention.
“That’s why he stayed here a lot (after he testified), because he wants to be the star,” said defense attorney Donovan Dobbs. “He wants to run around and do what he wants to do.”
Justin Martin, Martin’s adopted son, alleged that several incidents of abuse occurred while he was at Martin’s home between 2009 and 2010. Justin Martin said that in addition to spanking and tick controls similar to what LA experienced, he was forced to touch John Martin’s genitals and John Martin touched Justin Martin’s genitals. Justin Martin also claimed that John Martin anally penetrated him with objects. Justin Martin said the abuse stopped when he got older. The jury found John Martin guilty of nine of the 10 charges, which in Justin Martin’s case were second-degree rape.
Aaron Rice testified that around 1997, when he was 10 or 11, he was a Boy Scout in John Martin’s troop. He didn’t have a father figure in his life and said Martin took that place, spending weekends or nights at Martin’s house when his mother couldn’t care for him. Rice claims that Martin touched his genitals, penetrated him anally, and that Martin performed oral sex on him in Martin’s home, and that there was an occasion when Martin raped him after a Boy Scout meeting. Rice did not disclose his abuse until 2020, when a friend informed him of a class-action lawsuit against Boy Scouts of America by those who were abused by scout leaders as children. The jury found Martin not guilty of all three charges in Rice’s case.
Rice said Martin told him in 1997 that he would kill his mother if he told her or anyone else about the abuse.
The defense argued in closing that both Justin Martin’s and Aaron Rice’s testimonies were suspect because few details about the situations were known.
“With traumatic events, you generally remember what happened at the time. You may not remember everything around it,” like the day of the week, but you remember all the details, Dobbs said. “We didn’t get any more details because it didn’t happen.”
The defense also questioned why the victims never told anyone about the abuse — arguing that LA and Justin Martin both had caseworkers, Boy Scout leaders and other adults in their lives.
“Nothing was said because nothing was happening,” Dobbs said. Dobbs also stressed that the long-standing relationship between Justin Martin and John Martin was not indicative of the alleged abuse. The defense presented ongoing correspondence between the two regarding birth announcements, baby shower invitations and Father’s Day cards.
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“Common sense and reason would tell you I don’t want anything to do with that person,” Dobbs said. “(Justin Martin) didn’t say anything because nothing happened.”
The state emphasized the traumatic nature of sexual abuse, especially when it involves men. When both Justin Martin and Rice were asked why they didn’t tell anyone about the abuse, both spoke about the cultural stigma surrounding men and boys who have been sexually abused.
“We’re boys. We don’t talk about this stuff,” Rice told defense attorney Dobbs when asked why he didn’t tell the friend who filed the BSA lawsuit against Rice about the abuse. “I don’t want people to look down on me.”
Susan Szuch reports on health and nutrition for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @szuchsm. Idea for a story? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on the Springfield News-Leader: Foster father of Republic, BSA leader found guilty of child sex abuse
