Dance instructor accused of sexually assaulting foster children for years
08/10/2018 9:01 am PDT
By Margaret Kavanagh, WTKR
POQUOSON, Va. -- (WTKR) -- Court records reveal new disturbing accusations about foster children who were sexually assaulted for years. The Poquoson Police Department arrested a 27-year-old man as a suspect in an aggravated sexual battery case.
Police say Maurice Benjamin Martinez was taken into custody around 8 a.m. on January 25 in Poquoson. The charges in this case stem from incidents that were reported to have occurred between 2013 and 2018 and were said to have involved juvenile victims.
Martinez's relative worked as a foster parent, and the alleged abuse happened while the children were in the care of the relative. Records state there are two minor victims and a person with mental disabilities. They say one victim claimed to have been abused about 100 times, and the other said abuse took place daily.
When Martinez was arrested, police said he was employed at two dance studios but could not say which ones.
Martinez was charged with two counts of Aggravated Sexual Battery, which are both felonies.
Court documents state the relative who worked as a foster parent is now under investigation but has not been arrested. Police are looking into accusations that others possibly knew the abuse was going on.
Martinez is being held without bond in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.
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