Warning: This story contains details of sexual assault that may be distressing to some readers.
Adrian Tovar Martinez, 44, has been sentenced to two life sentences for aggravated sexual assault, as well as a 10-year sentence for obstruction/retaliation on Tuesday.
These sentences are to be served consecutively with a previous 20-year sentencefrom a separate sexual assault case in San Patricio County.
According to a press release from the Aransas County Attorney’s Office, Martinez was found guilty for an assault that occurred in October 2013 in Aransas Pass. The victim, identified as S.H., reported that Martinez struck her over the head, dragged her to a remote location, and sexually assaulted her.
After the attack, Martinez threatened S.H. not to report the crime to law enforcement. However, she managed to escape to a nearby Stripes convenience store, where police were alerted. S.H. sustained multiple injuries to her face, neck, chest, back, knee, and shoulders. She provided a description of Martinez’s grim reaper tattoo, which later aided authorities in identifying him.
The case remained unsolved until 2020, when DNA recovered from S.H. was matched to DNA from other sexual assault cases in San Patricio County and Houston. The press release states that Houston has yet to attempt matching Martinez’s DNA to their sexual assault kits.
Martinez was arrested by the Aransas Pass Police Department in 2021, and the S.H. case was indicted in 2022. Delays requested by Martinez’s attorney pushed the case to 2024.
During the punishment phase for S.H.’s case, testimony from a San Patricio County victim, identified as M.O., was presented. M.O., who had been in a common-law marriage with Martinez for a year, recounted at least two instances where Martinez had sexually assaulted her. Martinez received the maximum 20-year sentence for that case.
Aransas County District Judge Patrick Flanigan sentenced Martinez to the maximum penalties in each count for the S.H. case and ordered that the sentences run consecutively to his San Patricio sentencing.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, help is available. Call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 for confidential support.
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