A Chalmette congregation watched its former pastor trade the pulpit for prison this week, as 58-year-old Milton Otto Martin III was sentenced to seven years in state custody after a jury conviction for indecent behavior with a juvenile. Martin stood silent at the defense table while the court imposed the term, following a split verdict that cleared him of a more serious felony carnal-knowledge charge. In a tense sentencing hearing, the survivor described years of anxiety, shame and lasting harm tied to abuse that began when she was a teenager.
Judge hands down maximum sentence
State court Judge Darren Roy gave Martin the maximum seven-year sentence allowed on the conviction and said he had reviewed more than 100 letters asking for leniency. He ultimately rejected those pleas, calling them insufficient in light of the conduct at issue and the damage described in court. The decision came after the survivor urged the judge to impose the harshest punishment available and detailed the long-term impact the abuse has had on her life. According to The Roys Report, the court described Martin’s crimes as “exceptionally severe, with permanent injury to the victim.”
Jury verdict and charges
Jurors in December found Martin guilty of indecent behavior with a juvenile after a three-day trial, but acquitted him of felony carnal knowledge. Charging documents allege that Martin engaged in oral sex with the victim when she was 16 and committed other lewd acts while she was between 15 and 17. As reported by The Guardian, the Louisiana attorney general’s office took over the prosecution after the local district attorney recused his staff from the case.
How the case unfolded
The criminal investigation began after the survivor reported the abuse to Louisiana State Police in 2023, prompting an inquiry that led Martin to turn himself in that March. Local outlets at the time reported that he was booked on counts including sexual battery and carnal knowledge, and that a second accuser later came forward. Earlier coverage of the arrests and investigation can be found from WAFB and WBRZ.
Aftermath and legal follow-up
Martin chose not to speak at his sentencing hearing. Once he completes his prison term, he will be required to register as a sex offender. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill publicly praised Assistant Attorneys General Barry Milligan and Erica Moore for their work on the case, according to The Roys Report. With the criminal prosecution resolved, the victim’s civil lawsuit against Martin and the church is now clear to move forward.
Local context
The case lands in the middle of a broader reckoning over clergy abuse in the New Orleans area, where a string of high-profile prosecutions has fueled renewed demands for stronger safeguards in churches and other religious institutions. As noted by The Guardian, investigators interviewed several other women who alleged similar abuse by Martin, though only two ultimately testified at trial. Attorneys for survivors said the seven-year sentence marked an important step toward accountability, both for individual offenders and for the institutions that failed to stop them.
