Accused sex offender hopes to be released

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on June 1, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 43-year-old Lethbridge man accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in 2021, hopes he’ll be released from remand custody while his matter works its way through the court system.
James Robert Martinac is currently in custody at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, but during a hearing Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court, an agent for his lawyer adjourned the matter to June 9 for a bail hearing.
Martinac faces several charges, including sexual assault of a person under the age of 16, sexual exploitation, assault, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and possession of child pornography.Police reported that on April 28 a 16-year-old girl reported she had been sexually assaulted by a man known to her. Officers with the criminal investigation section of the Lethbridge Police Service determined the girl, who was 15 years old at the time of the offences, had been staying with the man at his home and was given drugs and sexually assaulted on multiple occasions over the course of several months.
Police also believe the man had contact with other young girls, and urge anyone who has been victimized to call police.

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