Man Acquitted Of Sexual Abuse Charge Says His Life Is In Shambles

Wednesday, March 6th 2019, 7:48 pm

By: News On 6, Lori Fullbright

A Coweta man says even though a jury found him not guilty of molestation, his life is still in shambles. He can't get a job and hasn't seen his children in 15 months.

He says he's not the only man falsely accused of heinous crimes as part of a custody dispute. Patrick Martinez says he's eternally grateful to the jurors who found him not guilty of two counts of child sexual abuse.

He says it's the worst accusation you can make against a man and a father.

"I was devastated. It was the most damaging thing that could ever happen to a person," said Martinez.

He says after the first allegation, DHS cleared him and the judge gave him joint custody and he thought all was well, until he got engaged, and four days later, a second allegation surfaces.

"The only thing they had was the word of my ex-wife and what she told the children to say. No other evidence at all," said Martinez.

He says DHS cleared him again, but, Wagoner County charged him. He says he lost his job the next day and even his friends started doubting him, not to mention all the online hate.

"There's people saying this guy should hang himself, he should put a gun in his mouth, somebody should execute this guy, they should kill him," said Martinez.

He says he always believed the truth would win out, but, he believes what happened to him, happens all too often.

"When I went to the first therapist I spoke with, she said, I can fill this room 10 times over with men just like yourself, well respected in the community, no prior history of abuse or allegations, but the minute they enter family court, divorce proceedings and the ex-wife is not getting her way, all of a sudden, they become a monster who's guilty," said Martinez.

He says he still hasn't seen his children and has been told he'll have to re-enter their lives over a period of months because they've been apart so long, even though that wasn't his choice. He's also trying to get his record updated, so he can get a job because right now, his background check still shows a pending felony.

He’s been told the two, could take a lot of time.