Friday, April 12th 2013, 6:57 pm
A former Oklahoma City police officer convicted of child sex abuse is out of jail. Maurice Martinez maintained his innocence for more than a year before taking a plea deal with the state.
Martinez served seven months in the Oklahoma County Jail after he made an agreement with prosecutors. Although, Martinez publicly denied the child abuse allegations, he stayed tight-lipped about the plea deal until sitting down for an interview with News 9's Lisa Monahan.
8/22/2012 Related Story: Plea Deal Explained In Former OKC Officer's Child Sex Abuse Case
"I never dreamed in a thousand years that I would ever have any problems like this," Martinez said.
Maurice Martinez went from being an Oklahoma City Police Sergeant to a convicted felon when his foster children accused him of molesting them. Martinez says the last two years were a "roller coaster, that's exactly what it was."
Over time, the accusers changed their stories.
"That young man has come forward and apologized a thousand times," Martinez said.
But Martinez said the damage was done and he questioned whether he could get a fair trial in a case getting so much publicity.
"The jury's tainted already, I mean you can't go to trial and have an impartial trial," he said.
Martinez says, because of that his attorney David Slane advised him to ask prosecutors for a plea deal.
"The idea that you pick twelve strangers and your life is in their hands is scary in and of itself, and so anytime a person has a chance to get probation and not take a risk of going to prison for one day , they have to really think about those things," Slane said.
Martinez says, bottom line, he took the deal of two years in jail, minus time served, to protect everyone - including his former foster children.
8/21/2012 Related Story: Former OKC Police Officer Pleads Guilty To Child Sex Abuse Charges
"I gotta protect my family. I didn't want to drag them through any trial, kids through any trial," he said.
Martinez says he is now ready to put this all behind him and is not concerned about public opinion,
"Let's put it this way, God, family and everybody involved know the truth, and I'm happy with that. I can move on with that," Martinez said.
Martinez will be on house arrest for two years and probation for 25 years. Prosecutors previously said this was a fair deal because Martinez will have to register as a sex offender for life.
April 12th, 2013
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