June 29, Hardin County District Attorney Rebecca Walton announced that Judge Steve Thomas of the 356th District Court found J. Santos Reyes Martinez, 65, guilty of indecency with a child, a second-degree felony. The offense occurred in Batson in 1994.
Martinez was sentenced to the maximum term of 20 years to be served in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Prosecutor Pamela Ibeh presented against Martinez, who was arrested under his indicted name of Santos Reyes Matinez in January 2025 while U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered the fugitive at the Laredo Port of Entry during a bus check utilizing biometric verification. The federal law enforcement databases verified Martinez’s identity, despite the new “J.” first name and learned he had an outstanding felony warrant in Hardin County.
According to Hardin County Sheriff Mark Davis at the time of Martinez’s arrest, the indictment was secured in 1997 for indecency with a child, sexual contact, for alleged sexual contact with a child under age 17 dating to March 1994.