GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The man accused of trying to kidnap and sexually assault a young girl as she waited for her morning school bus was in court Thursday, officially charged with two felonies.
Marquis Martinez, 25, is facing two counts for the alleged confrontation: attempted criminal sexual conduct in the second degree and kidnapping.
If convicted, he could face up to life in prison. He could also be placed on the sex offender registry.
Grand Rapids
Suspect charged with attempted sexual assault of 12-year-old in Grand Rapids
The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office requested that Martinez be given a significant cash bond, saying, “The seriousness of the charge and the safety of the community and the safety of the victim are also concerns.”
Martinez was given a $500,000 cash bond. If released, he will be required to wear a GPS tether and refrain from using alcohol or illegal drugs.
“The facts and circumstances associated with the charges do give rise to significant public safety concerns,” the judge explained to the court.
A public defender temporarily representing Martinez told the court that he has lived in the Grand Rapids area his whole life. He said that Martinez is not currently employed, but was in the process of looking for work.
The incident in question happened around 7 a.m. Tuesday morning near Bradford Street and Ball Avenue, according to Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom.
Grand Rapids
Suspect arrested for 'suspicious' incident involving Grand Rapids student
Chief Winstrom says the girl was waiting for her school bus when the man approached, dragging her across the street while trying to sexually assault her.
According to court documents obtained by FOX 17 late Thursday, the girl asked Martinez if he was going to “shoot or kill her.”
He allegedly told her that he was not, and that he “only wanted to have a good time with her.”
When he dropped something, the girl managed to break away. She said during a forensic interview that Martinez told her to “get back there.”
The girl was able to run back to her home, quickly alerting her mother.
Martinez was arrested a short while later for the attempted assault, near the intersection of Plymouth and Mason.
According to the court documents, Martinez admitted to confronting the young girl at her bus stop.
“Marquis stated he had drunk vodka the previous night and remembered feeling happy when he woke up,” they read. “Marquis said when he is drunk, he tries to be friendly; however, it comes off as being weird.”
He apparently told investigators that he felt “awful” about what he did.
The documents state that Marquis wrote up an apology letter to the young girl, claiming he was “so sorry” about what he did, and that he didn’t mean to do it.
Investigators will occasionally have suspects write such letters during the interrogation process as a further method to prove their involvement in a crime.
"From the start of this, we get information from a 12-year-old girl, and we have to assume that everything she says is true, because there's a potential that there's a monster out here," Chief Winstrom told FOX 17 Wednesday. "In this case, everything she said was true. There was a monster out there, and we were able to put them in custody."
Chief Winstrom explained that he was located by a Grand Rapids Fire Department crew who were driving in the area. They were aware of what happened with the girl and called in a potentially suspicious-looking man seen in a nearby wooded area.
"This girl came very close to having her life completely changed and possibly taken away from her, because oftentimes these individuals, as I described them, as monsters, it is a sexual act, and then it becomes a violent crime, which has ended many times in murder."
Martinez is expected back in court in the coming weeks for what is called a probable cause conference.
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