The trial of a Greene County man — a former Boy Scout leader, foster parent and law enforcement officer — accused of sexually abusing three young boys continued June 25-26 with testimony from the alleged victims, several people who know the defendant and Ian Martin himself.
John “Ian” Edward Martin, 53, faces 17 felony charges. They include counts of sexual misconduct involving a child under 15, first- and second-degree statutory sodomy.
If convicted, Martin faces up to life in prison under Missouri sentencing guidelines. Greene County Circuit Judge Kaiti Greenwade is presiding over the jury trial.
Witnesses testified Martin had been a law enforcement officer in the 1990s, but lost his peace officer’s license in 1998 due to his behavior toward one of the boys. Martin testified he was in law enforcement for about 10 years, having worked for the Greene, Christian and Stone county sheriff’s offices.
One of the alleged victims met Martin in 1997 when he was a 10-year-old in Boy Scout Troop 235, and is a plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America.
Throughout his opening statements to the jury, defense attorney Donovan Dobbs repeatedly called the man's allegations against Martin “opportunities for selfish gain.”
Teen recalls naked ‘tick checks,’ spankings
The first alleged witness to testify on Tuesday was a 17-year-old who briefly lived with Martin as a foster child when he was 13 during the summer of 2020.
The teen testified Martin would routinely make him strip naked for “tick checks” and spankings with a paddle. The teen said Martin had cameras all over his house in Republic and would force the teen to walk through the house naked.
The teen testified that Martin told him to shave his genitalia in front of Martin and that Martin helped him shave.
“He told me not to tell anybody about it,” the young man said. “(Martin) told me it’s because you are not allowed to touch foster kids.”
The teen testified he participated in the Boy Scouts because Martin was involved with the organization. While on a camping trip, the boy said he confided in some friends about what was happening at Martin’s house. One of those friends told their mother, who then alerted law enforcement agents.
The then-13-year-old underwent a forensic interview at the Child Advocacy Center in Springfield in 2020, which initiated the investigation and eventually charges were filed.
That recorded interview was played in court Tuesday.
Alleged victim from 2009 incidents claims multiple incidents of rape
The second witness who testified on Tuesday was a 28-year-old man who said he was placed in Martin’s home as a foster child in the summer of 2009 when he was about to begin his freshman year of high school. This boy would later be adopted by Martin.
This man testified that he did not know the young man from the 2020 incidents, but testified in detail with nearly identical accounts of being forced to do the naked tick checks and naked spankings by Martin.
This man testified he eventually wound up sleeping in the same bed as Martin and would have to shower with Martin. The young man testified that Martin sexually assaulted him numerous times in bed and the shower.
“I’ve tried to mentally block it,” he said. “It was painful.”
When questioned about why he never told anyone of the alleged abuse, the young man said it was because he felt shame and embarrassment.
“It demeans you as less of a man,” he said. “Most men don’t talk about it. … It’s not a stigma you want to live with.”
Like the foster teen from the 2020 incidents, the second witness also became involved with scouting because of Martin. This young man went on to participate in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) in high school and later joined the U.S. military.
Dobbs, the defense attorney, questioned the young man about how much he remembered about the Boy Scouts’ manual and the “3 Rs” to protect children from abuse: recognize, resist and report. The young man testified he doesn’t remember anything about the “3 Rs” training in Boy Scouts.
Dobbs questioned the man about why he didn’t seem concerned about Martin being around or caring for the man's niece — a child the young man is raising.
“No, because he likes boys,” the man said of Martin.
Boy from 1997 incidents: ‘He instructed me what to do’
The third witness to take the stand on Tuesday was a 37-year-old who testified he met Martin in 1997 when he was 10 years old and was part of the Boys Scouts Troop 235, which then met at Wesley United Methodist Church in south Springfield.
At the start of the third man’s testimony, Greene County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Conner Harris asked the man to explain his criminal history, which included stealing, burglary, domestic assault, driving while intoxicated and forgery convictions. When he was first contacted by an officer with the Republic Police Department in 2021, the man was in the Greene County Jail. He is staying at a sober-living facility as part of his court-ordered probation.
This third man is part of a class action lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America — a suit that Martin’s defense attorney argued is the true reason and motivation for his claims of sexual abuse.
This man testified his mother — a single mom — often worked out of town on the weekends in the late 1990s and allowed the then 10-year-old to spend the night at Martin’s house. He said Martin was like a father figure.
He testified about having to sleep in Martin’s bed and being sexually assaulted by Martin numerous times. He testified that Martin sexually assaulted him at the church one night after a Boy Scout meeting.
“(Martin) instructed me what to do,” he said. “Eventually (the abuse) moved on to full penetration. I would get mad about it because it hurt.”
The man testified Martin explained the sexual abuse was something fathers and sons did.
“There’s certain things mothers just don’t understand,” he testified Martin once said to him.
He testified the abuse continued until Martin began talking to him about running away together, which scared the boy.
“He was talking about wouldn’t it be nice if we would just go away,” the man testified, “just me and him (and) he could be my father.”
Law enforcement certification taken away
It was at that point, the boy told his mother about Martin’s talk of taking the boy — but he did not tell his mom of the sexual abuse.
His mother testified that she immediately told Martin he could no longer see or communicate with her son.
She said Martin showed up at the boy’s school and tried to take him out of school. She testified that Martin would drive by their home.
Because Martin was a law enforcement officer, the mother said she notified POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training), the regulatory program responsible for licensing peace officers in the state of Missouri.
She said she and her son both testified at a hearing in Jefferson City about the stalking allegations and that Martin lost his POST certification as a result.
Defense witnesses say no evidence of abuse
The first witness called by Martin’s defense team on Wednesday was Robert Martin, one of the young men Martin fostered and later adopted.
Robert Martin admitted to making similar allegations of sexual abuse in 2012 against his father, but testified that he recanted the allegations. Robert Martin testified he made those allegations because he wanted to spend time with his biological family.
“I regretted what I did,” Robert Martin testified.
Robert Martin denied that John “Ian” Martin bought him expensive gifts or made promises to get Robert Martin to change his story. He testified that he was placed on probation for giving false statements and ordered to participate in anger management therapy.
Robert Martin testified he never saw any signs of abuse with the other boys in the house.
On cross examination, Robert Martin testified that he often spent time in his room, playing video games and wearing headphones. He recalled normal — not naked — spankings and tick checks. He said he could get naked for tick checks, if he needed to, and that his dad might have helped if he was struggling to reach or see a spot.
Upon cross examination by a prosecutor, Robert Martin denied he told an old girlfriend about the sexual abuse or that his dad ever deprived him of food unless Robert Martin allowed his father do sexual acts.
Alpha gal syndrome reason for tick checks?
John “Ian” Martin’s girlfriend, Janelle Powell, testified she and Martin have dated for the past six years and have lived together since October 2020.
According to Powell, Martin caught the tick-borne illness alpha gal syndrome a few years ago, suggesting this was the reason for Martin’s insistence on tick checks. However, Powell said she never witnessed naked tick checks among Martin and any boys, nor did she see any signs of abuse.
Powell testified that it was the boy from the 2020 incidents — not Martin — who brought up the subject of shaving genitalia. She testified that the boy said he noticed different styles of grooming in the locker room and had questions about how to shave properly.
Martin: Fostering is ‘a calling on my heart'
John “Ian” Martin took the witness stand in his own defense on Wednesday afternoon. He testified that he has adopted three boys from foster care over the years.
Regarding the boy from the 1997 incidents, Martin explained they met through boy's mother and because the boy participated in Boy Scouts. Martin said he wanted to “help and mentor” the boy.
Martin said he believes the reason the boy’s mother complained to POST was because Martin found out she was having an affair with one of Martin’s friends, and that Martin told his friend’s wife of the affair.
Asked if he tried to get the boy to run away, Martin responded, “Oh, gosh no.”
He denied sexually abusing the people who testified against him at trial.
Martin described his desire to be a foster parent as “a calling on my heart.” He said he’s fostered at least eight male foster children over the years. When asked why he only fostered boys, Martin explained “it would be weird” for a single man to foster young girls.
Martin denied spanking any of his foster kids. He said he would spank his adopted kids, but never “bare butt.”
As far as tick checks were concerned, Martin said the boys were encouraged to strip down to their underwear in the garage in case there were ticks on their clothing.
The defendant denied making promises to Robert Martin in 2012 that any sexual abuse would stop if Robert Martin recanted the allegations of abuse. When questioned about buying Robert Martin a gaming system and pet snake for Christmas in 2012 — just days after Robert Martin made the allegations — Martin said he wasn’t sure when the pet snake was purchased and that the gaming system wasn’t a gift from him.
Rebuttal witnesses suggest adopted son was abused
Harris, the prosecutor, called two rebuttal witnesses.
Kourtney Merrit, Robert Martin’s biological sister, testified that her brother called her around Christmas of 2012 and told her John Martin “had been touching him.”
“He was urging me to come get him,” she said. “I went and got him.”
Merritt said when she tried to drive away from Martin’s home with her little brother, Martin blocked her in the driveway and told her she couldn’t take him. She said Martin reminded her that he was a former law enforcement officer and warned her he would “press kidnapping charges.”
She said they agreed to go to the Republic Police Department to hash it out. She said she and Robert Martin followed John Martin to the station.
“We walked in,” Merritt testified, “I said, ‘That man was molesting my brother.’”
Merritt said police officers put Martin on a bench on one side of the room; she and her brother sat on a bench on the other side of the room. Merritt testified that she observed her brother on a cellphone and was texting back and forth with Martin at the police station. Officers put them in separate rooms, she said, but the texting continued.
A few days later, Merritt allowed her brother to go back to Martin’s house for Christmas. Asked why she allowed him to go back, Merritt said, “Robert really wanted to get his new XBox.”
Ex-girlfriend corroborates abuse allegations
Harris called Robert Martin’s ex-girlfriend as the second and final rebuttal witness on Wednesday.
Rhianna Borovicka testified that she dated Robert Martin around 2018 and/or 2019 and that Robert Martin disclosed to her that his adoptive father, John Martin, sexually abused him.
“He had inappropriate sexual relations with Robert against Robert’s will,” Borovicka testified.
Harris asked if Robert Martin disclosed to her that Robert Martin would be “deprived of food” if he didn’t cooperate with the sexual abuse. She said yes.
Asked why she didn’t report this claim to police, Borovicka said Robert Martin told her he would deny it and that he did not want his father to go to prison.
Attorneys will give closing remarks on Thursday morning.
