Rochester man sentenced to seven years for violent rape

John Molseed, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read
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May 20—ROCHESTER — A former Rochester man was sentenced Monday to more than seven years in prison for violently sexually assaulting a woman during what a prosecutor described as a "spree" in 2021.

Jeremy Scott Martin, 39, appeared in Olmsted County District Court Monday, May 20, 2024, and was sentenced to 90 months in prison. Martin will serve the sentence once he is discharged from prison in Wisconsin where he is eligible for release late in November 2025.

In court Monday, the woman he assaulted tearfully read a victim impact statement describing the ordeal when threatened her with a gun, tied her down with ratchet straps and raped her Nov. 15, 2021.

"I will never be the same person I was before he tortured and violated me," the woman told the court.

In a plea agreement, Martin pleaded guilty Feb. 17, 2024, to felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was originally charged with felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, fear of great bodily harm and first-degree criminal sexual conduct, armed with a dangerous weapon. Prosecutors with the Olmsted County Attorney's Office and Martin's attorney Earl Gray agreed to the plea with a sentence in the range of 62 months to 74 months in prison. That range is lower than state sentencing guidelines for the offense, which call for 131 to 180 months in prison.

The woman Martin admitted to assaulting said she was glad to not have to go through the ordeal of a trial, but told District Court Judge Pamela King the proposed sentence range was too light.

"I feel that's nowhere near enough for the suffering I've endured," she said.

King called a recess to deliberate and resumed court a few minutes later.

King said she would honor the agreement the prosecuting and defense attorneys reached.

"I intend to be respectful of the negotiations between lawyers," she said.

However, King imposed a sentence slightly longer than the two parties had agreed to.

King noted this offense and the offenses that landed Martin in a Wisconsin prison occurred in a "relative short period of time," referring to prosecuting attorney Arianna Whitney's characterization of the offenses as a "spree" in November 2021.

Martin is currently serving time at the Stanley Correctional Institution in Stanley, Wisconsin, on multiple convictions. He was arrested in November 2021 in Wisconsin on multiple charges there including making arson threats .

Martin will serve a minimum of 60 months in prison and be eligible to serve the final 30 months on supervised release. He was also given 10 years of probation to be served after his release. Martin was also given credit for 267 days served in custody.