Cynthiana man who admitted to trying to have sex with children gets long federal sentence

A Cynthiana man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison after admitting to trying to have sex with minors, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Jeremy Wayne Martinez, 28, pleaded guilty in October of 2018 to a charge of using the internet to try to coerce a minor into having sex with him, according to a release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

An undercover investigator had responded to an advertisement by Martinez on Craigslist, according to the news release. The investigator posed as a mother of two daughters, a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old.

In the plea deal, Martinez admitted that during the communication between him and the investigator, Martinez expressed interest in having sex with both of the fictitious minors, according to the news release.

On Oct. 19, 2017, Martinez traveled to a Frankfort meeting place suggested by the undercover officer and was arrested, according to the news release.

By federal law, Martinez must serve 85 percent of his 210-month prison sentence, and he will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 25 years following his release, according to the news release.

This story was originally published March 25, 2019 at 5:47 PM.