Justice 
finally comes for ‘94 sex 
offender

BATSON – A 65-year-old man was sentenced Monday to the maximum 20 years in prison after being convicted of indecency with a child in Hardin County. J Santos Reyes Martinez was found guilty June 29 in the 356th District Court, according to Hardin County District Attorney Rebecca Walton. Indecency with a child is a second-degree felony. Judge Steve Thomas sentenced Martinez to 20 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Assistant District Attorney Pamela Ibeh prosecuted the case. The offense occurred in Batson and dated back more than three decades. An April 1997 indictment alleged Martinez engaged in sexual contact with a child younger than 17 in March 1994. Martinez remained wanted until he was apprehended Jan. 27, 2025, by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in Laredo. Martinez, then 64, was traveling as a passenger on a bus when officers referred him for a secondary inspection. Biometric verification and federal law enforcement databases confirmed his identity and revealed the outstanding Hardin County felony warrant. CBP officers transported Martinez to the Webb County Jail for processing before he was later returned to Hardin County.