A breakthrough in a 1996 child sexual assault cold case in Sunnyvale, California, and the arrest of 59-year-old Richard Jeffrey Martinez today, nearly three decades after the vile acts surfaced, according to CBS San Francisco.
Richard Jeffrey Martinez, 59, arrested by @SunnyvaleDPS, charged by #SantaClaraDA in 1996 sexual assault of 7yo girl. Cold case cracked by genetic genealogy, say cops, eyeing him in sexual assaults of least 2 other victims pic.twitter.com/L58WDGSnPW
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) June 13, 2023
It all unfolded when the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS) turned the case over to the cold case unit of the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office last year, causing a ripple effect that culminated in the identification of other victims, including two new cases of juveniles being sexually assaulted by Martinez.
Tracing back to the 1996 case, the seven-year-old victim was assaulted in Sunnyvale's Cherry Orchard neighborhood, which despite a thorough investigation had gone cold, with detectives unable to identify a suspect even though they'd followed all potential leads and trace evidence.
The cold case unit's collaboration with the DPS brought about a forensic breakthrough, as their joint efforts leveraged forensic genealogy to identify Martinez as the suspect, whereupon he was apprehended and later charged with the 1996 assault.
Following Martinez's arrest, the DPS has urged the public to come forward with any additional information on these cases, considering that there may still be other unknown victims, in their attempt to piece together the full extent of this troubling puzzle.
If you or someone you know has any information regarding the cases involving Richard Jeffrey Martinez, contact Matthew Hutchison at the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety at 408-730-7100, and always remember that every piece of information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, can help change the course of an investigation.
