RIVERSIDE — A 44-year-old man who assaulted a Corona girl walking to school, stripping naked while holding her and trying to drag her into bushes before she got away, was sentenced Wednesday to six years, two months in state prison.
Carlos Lorenzo Martinez of Corona pleaded guilty last month to contacting a minor for the purpose of perpetrating a sexual offense, assault resulting in great bodily injury and indecent exposure under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for Martinez’s admissions, prosecutors dropped three related charges against him.
During a hearing Wednesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Superior Court Judge John Molloy certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.
According to a post-preliminary hearing brief filed by prosecutors, the 12-year-old victim was on her way to Cesar Chavez Elementary School on the morning of Oct. 13, 2021, passing the area of Paseo Grande and West Ontario Avenue, when Martinez rode by her on a pink-and- white bicycle, wearing a bright red dress.
The defendant dismounted from the bike and began walking with it toward the child, mumbling repeatedly “sweet baby girl” in Spanish, which the victim understood, the brief stated.
The girl immediately feared that she might be sexually assaulted, so she tried to run.
Martinez threw the bike into her back, causing her to fall onto the sidewalk, according to the prosecution.
“The defendant then grabbed the child pretty violently,” the brief said. “He was holding her aggressively with both hands.”
Martinez began dragging the petrified girl toward bushes, which several passing motorists noticed, prompting them to stop and call 911.
“The defendant disrobed to where he stood above the victim naked, exposing his penis to this child,” according to court papers.
The girl broke away from Martinez and bolted toward a stopped school bus on the opposite side of the street. She boarded it for safety, and Martinez remounted the bike, riding away “completely naked,” the prosecution said.
Patrol officers responding to eyewitness reports located the defendant within minutes and took him into custody without incident.
When asked by detectives whether he suffered from any mental health complications, he said no, prosecutors said.
Court records show that Martinez had traffic-related misdemeanor convictions but no felonies in Riverside County.
