A Fort Smith teen pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of child molestation in the first degree stemming from two 2016 encounters with a then-13-year-old girl, a Missouri prosecutor said.
Tyler Martin, 19, “admitted at his plea to molesting a thirteen-year-old girl at a motel,” according to a news release from the Taney County prosecuting attorney’s office. Martin molested the girl on April 15-16, 2016, at a motel on Green Mountain Drive in Branson, Mo., according to the release.
Taney County Prosecutor Jeffrey Merrell said the charges against Martin stemmed from two occasions in which he touched the girl’s breasts at the motel.
The girl told the Branson Police Department about Martin’s actions April 17, 2016, the release said, and authorities began an investigation.
Merrell said Martin lived in Branson at the time of the crime and moved to Arkansas during court proceedings. An official at the Taney County jail, where records show that Martin is being held without bail, said the 19-year-old was from Fort Smith.
Martin’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 24, according to the release. Missouri authorities said he could be sentenced for up to 15 years for each offense.
Missouri court records show an additional charge of sexual misconduct and several counts related to bad checks. Merrell said Martin had pleaded guilty to at least one of the bad check charges and that the sexual misconduct charge was being handled by a special prosecutor and occurred during Martin’s time in jail.
