Trial begins against man accused of abusing six young girls for 25 years

The trial of the man accused of sexually abusing six young girls over a period of nearly three decades takes place this week in the courtroom of Greene County Judge Todd Myers.

Edward Martinez, 53, faces 21 charges, including numerous counts of first- and second-degree child abuse, attempted first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, first-degree rape and sexual abuse.

A jury of three men and 11 women was selected from a pool of 80 Greene County residents on Monday, Sept. 23. Myers warned potential jurors that the trial could last until Oct. 1.

On Tuesday morning, before the first witnesses were called, Martinez's defense attorney Jeffery Woods decided to postpone his opening statement until the prosecution had concluded its evidence.

Megan Vincent, Greene County's chief assistant prosecutor, delivered opening statements and told jurors that they would hear testimony from all six alleged victims.

“The case you are here for spans 25 years and involves six victims from 1996 to 2021,” Vincent said. “Each victim was younger than 12 years old when the defendant, Edward Martinez, sexually abused them.”

The age of the alleged victims was between 4 and 12 years

Vincent then explained how each alleged victim met Martinez. The alleged victims were usually children of his partners or his close friends – or the young friends of those children.

Martinez is accused of sexually assaulting the two girls, who were between four and twelve years old at the time.

“(Three of the alleged victims) are now in their 30s and (another victim) is in her 20s,” Vincent said. “But when they tell you what the defendant did to them, I want you to remember that (when the alleged abuse occurred) they were just little girls.”

Vincent said three of the alleged victims reported their allegations to trusted adults at the time, but were not initially believed.

Prosecutor: Victim had to “play doctor”

Vincent told the jury that they would hear from an alleged victim who would describe Martinez as “very charming and, in hindsight, incredibly manipulative,” and that the witness would testify about how Martinez told her to “play doctor.”

“He forced her to remove her clothes so that her genitals were shown to him. Then he pretended he had to do an examination,” Vincent said. “So he forced himself and put his mouth on (her) vagina.”

Vincent said another victim will testify that Martinez forced her to perform sexual acts in exchange for a gift for her 10th birthday.

The investigation that led to the 21 charges was launched in June 2021 by the Republic Police Department and the Missouri Children's Division. The officer and the Children's Division investigator responded to allegations from three children who were present at an alleged incident. As they dug into Martinez's past, they learned of other times when Martinez had access to children.

If convicted, Martinez faces a life sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Jackie Rehwald

Jackie Rehwald is a reporter for the Springfield Daily Citizen. She covers public safety, courts, homelessness, domestic violence and other social issues. Her office number is 417-837-3659. More from Jackie Rehwald