Fresno bus driver charged in child porn case, wife defends
FRESNO, Calif. Martinez was arrested at work on Wednesday ... the result of an investigation by federal agents on the other side of the country.
The family of /*Ramon Martinez*/ says he is not a predator. His wife defended him saying he is battling internal demons and dealing with a pain, that's decades old.
Beth Martinez said, "He adores kids. It's not something that he doesn't go out and search for them. No, it's he made a bad choice and I feel sorry for the hell that he is going through because we are now going through it too."
Beth Martinez has been married to Ramon Martinez for close to three decades. She never imagined he had a secret that not even she knew about.
"I don't know how things happen. We have a computer in our house, yes," said Beth. "I look at stuff on the computer ... I've never seen anything, honestly.
Federal court documents describe the child pornography federal agents found at the couple's Northwest Fresno home earlier this week. FBI agents downloaded pornographic images of teenage boys they got from files on Martinez' computer.
When he was confronted at the Fresno Unified bus station Wednesday -- court records show Martinez confessed to connecting with others over the internet and trading and downloading inappropriate pictures.
He told investigators he was molested when he was a child. His wife says she recently became aware of that, before this criminal case. She is certain he never acted out or abused any children.
"If there was a problem, 26 years driving. I'm sure something would've come up. I'm positive," said Beth. "We have family here. I would've seen something. We are a very close knit family."
Family members at times wiped away tears. They support Martinez and love him, despite the heartbreaking revelations.
Beth explained, "It's shocking, you know but he's a good guy but he made a bad choice."
Yesterday Martinez answered not guilty in federal court to the formal complaint. Today the U.S. Attorney asked the judge to postpone a detention hearing because he has a new allegation that is being investigated. He would not elaborate at all on what the allegation is about.
