A registered sex offender who illegally watched child pornography in a National City library faces up to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of sexually explicit images.
The sentencing for Julio Fernando Martinez, Jr., 37, of Chula Vista, is set for Feb. 3 but could be delayed as his attorney has not yet filed sentencing documents in U.S. District Court.
The incident at the National City public library took place on May 7, 2016. Filters have been placed on library computers that supposedly would prevent this from taking place, but somehow Martinez was able to bypass those restrictions.
Staff from the library at 1401 National City Boulevard realized he was accessing child pornography and they called National City Police. Martinez was arrested and an officer found he was recording what he was viewing on a portable media player.
The player, a memory card, and his cellular phone were seized, and will be forfeited to the government. Court records said the media player was analyzed by Homeland Security Investigations and there were 149 images and video files. There were nine video files on the memory card and three images on the phone.
One video that was recorded in the library was of a young girl around 10 years of age who was bound and attached to a leash while only wearing stockings and a mask. Records say the video recorded her being molested.
Martinez was earlier ordered to register as a sex offender, but he was not currently registered, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. He was convicted of providing alcohol to a minor in 2003 and possessing obscene materials involving minors in 2008 and 2010.
The case was initially charged in Chula Vista Superior Court, but it was dismissed after the U.S. Attorney’s office said they wanted to prosecute him. The sentence Martinez faces is much longer than he would get in Superior Court.
The prosecutor is seeking a 10-year term. Martinez told police he has learning disabilities which leave him with a mental age of 10.
A federal judge ruled July 22 Martinez must be detained without bail and he remains in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
