A 33-year-old man is facing rape and strangulation charges after Pittsburgh police say he attacked a woman he knew inside a hotel on Lytton Street in North Oakland, then fled the area before being tracked down the following day in McKeesport. Martell Martin was arrested on Thursday, September 3, and taken to the Allegheny County Jail to face a lengthy list of felony and misdemeanor counts.
According to Pittsburgh Police, Special Victims Unit detectives responded to investigate a reported rape that occurred on Wednesday, September 2, inside the hotel on Lytton Street. Police say the male suspect and female victim were known to each other, and that the man fled the area following the assault. Lytton Street sits in North Oakland, an urban corridor of commercial and institutional buildings adjacent to the University of Pittsburgh campus, according to Lodging Magazine.
Fugitive Task Force Tracks Suspect to McKeesport
Pittsburgh Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit detectives, assisted by the U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force, located and arrested Martin in McKeesport on Wednesday. That task force is a multi-agency partnership operating across 25 counties in Western Pennsylvania that works with local departments to track and apprehend violent offenders and fugitives, Hoodline has previously reported in its coverage of a months-long manhunt for a different Pittsburgh sex offender fugitive. Police located Martin in McKeesport after the reported assault in Pittsburgh.
Martin faces charges of rape, sexual assault, indecent assault, strangulation, false imprisonment, terroristic threats, and driving while his operating privilege was suspended. He was transported to the Allegheny County Jail. It remains unclear what bail conditions, if any, were set at Martin's arraignment.
What Pennsylvania Law Says About the Charges
Under Pennsylvania law, rape is classified as a felony of the first degree carrying a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $25,000, according to RAINN. Sexual assault, by contrast, is defined separately from rape as non-consensual sexual intercourse without aggravating factors like forcible compulsion, and is classified as a felony of the second degree carrying up to 10 years, per the state's Megan's Law statute.
Pennsylvania also treats strangulation as its own standalone felony. Under Pennsylvania's strangulation statute, intentionally impeding someone's breathing or blood circulation is a felony of the second degree punishable by up to 10 years in prison when committed alongside a sexual assault, according to WomensLaw.org, and the law does not require proof of physical injury to support the charge. The driving-while-suspended count is also among the charges against Martin.
Detectives Ask If There Are More Victims
In an update issued after the arrest, Pittsburgh Police said Special Victims Unit detectives responded to investigate the reported assault.
Victims of sexual violence in Allegheny County can seek help from Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. The arrest follows other recent Pittsburgh-area cases handled by SVU detectives, including an alleged South Side rape investigated last month.
