A MAN accused of persuading his girlfriends to sexually abuse their own children will be behind bars for the next three decades.
Joshua Douglas Martorelli was sentenced to 28 years in prison in North Carolina after pleading guilty to production of child pornography charges in August, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release.
The 36-year-old allegedly persuaded the women he dated to film themselves engaging in sex acts with their own children.
Prosecutors said that Martorelli found his victims by developing romantic relationships with their moms before asking them to take advantage of their children for his sexual pleasure.
“Martorelli targeted children for sexual exploitation by forming romantic relationships with their mothers,” the press release reads.
“He then cajoled the mothers to exploit their own children for his sexual gratification.”
The father of a then-11-year-old girl allegedly found text, Tumblr, and Facebook messages between Martorelli and the girl’s mother, Wendy Kasper, in December 2016.
In those messages, the pedophile “expressed a sexual interest” in the child, according to court documents obtained by the Charlotte Observer.
The father shared his harrowing discovery with an attorney, who then filed a report with Child Protective Services.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office reportedly opened an investigation immediately after.
Kasper allegedly recorded her daughter in the shower on Martorelli’s orders.
The 36-year-old mum allegedly feared he’d tell the father about their relationship, according to a detective who interviewed her.
Police then reportedly searched Martorelli’s Salisbury, North Carolina house while he was home in January 2017.
According to prosecutors, “[Martorelli] stated that he was sick to his stomach and was ‘going to lose everything'” before he admitted that detectives would uncover more incriminating messages involving another underage victim.
The second victim’s mother, who wasn’t named, allegedly admitted to sending him videos of herself performing sex acts on and with her 5-year-old son.
She said Martorelli had “threatened to report her to police if she refused” and added that he allegedly said he’d kill her family, court documents show.
When arrest warrants were issued against Martorelli, he reportedly fled to Long Island, New York.
He turned himself in to authorities in January 2017 after his parents brought him back to Rowan County, where prosecutors said he’s been locked up since.
Earlier this year, a grand jury indicted the abuser on 18 counts of child pornography and enticing a minor from October to December of 2016, according to court docs.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography and attempting to produce child pornography three months later.
A plea agreement said both charges carry 15- to 30-year prison sentences and $250,000 fines.
