By Cory Matteson
Lincoln Journal Star
LANCASTER, Neb. — A former state corrections officer already facing charges for allegedly sending sexually explicit pictures and text messages to a 17-yearold girl was picked up last month in El Paso, Texas, on a Lancaster County warrant alleging he was in possession of child pornography.
Samuel Martinez Jr., 27, was charged in Lancaster County Court on Tuesday with one count of felony child pornography possession.
On Jan. 11, a Nebraska State Patrol investigator seized a media card from Martinez’s
BlackBerry mobile phone. The investigator “noted hundreds of sexually explicit image and video files” found on the card, according to a probable cause affidavit. Some of the images appeared to be of children, the affidavit states.
A warrant for Martinez’s arrest was issued Jan. 26, according to court documents. That same day, he flagged down police in El Paso, Texas, and said he was wanted in Nebraska.
El Paso Police Detective Michael Baranyay said Martinez turned himself in without incident. It is unknown why Martinez was in El Paso.
Martinez was arrested in December in Nebraska and is accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and distributing obscene materials to a minor. Both charges are misdemeanors. He posted $50 bond on Dec. 14 and was released. At the time of his arrest, his phone was seized for “safekeeping,” court documents said.
The misdemeanor allegations stem from an investigation that began in mid-November, when the 17-year-old girl’s parents contacted authorities about pictures and messages on her phone, Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins said in December.
Martinez was entered into the girl’s phone as “Sam Cop,” according to a search warrant filed Jan. 15 in Lancaster County District Court. He had worked for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services at the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center since October 2008.
Martinez resigned on Dec. 18, 2009, according to Diagnostic and Evaluation Center spokeswoman Sarah Nelson.
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