Jury passes verdict against former Boy Scout leader accused of abusing boys

It took a jury seven hours to find a Greene County man – a former Boy Scout leader, foster father and former police officer – guilty of sexually abusing a young boy who was his foster child in 2009.

John “Ian” Edward Martin was charged with sexually abusing two other boys, but the jury found him not guilty of those charges.

Martin, 53, faces 17 charges, including five counts of sexual abuse of a child under 15, nine counts of second-degree sodomy and three counts of first-degree sodomy.

The jury found him not guilty on charges of first-degree sexual misconduct and sodomy, but found him guilty on nine counts of second-degree sodomy for abusing the boy in the 2009 incidents.

Martin was a police officer in the 1990s, but lost his police officer’s license in 1998 due to his behavior toward one of the boys in his court case. Martin testified he worked in law enforcement for about 10 years, including stints with the Greene, Christian and Stone counties sheriff’s offices.

During two days of testimony on June 25 and 26 in Judge Kaiti Greenwade’s courtroom in Springfield, Martin’s accusers testified that they had been sexually abused in Martin’s parents’ home for years, including in other years since the 1990s.

Following the jury’s verdict Thursday evening, Greenwade revoked Martin’s bail and he was arrested and taken to jail. His sentence will be announced at a later date.

Victim from 2009 sexually abused in bed and in the shower

The victim of the charge for which Martin was convicted is now 28 years old. He testified that he was placed in foster care with Martin in the summer of 2009, when Martin was about to begin his freshman year of high school. The boy was later adopted by Martin.

This man testified that he did not know the young man from the 2020 allegations, but testified at length and gave nearly identical accounts of how Martin forced him to undergo naked tick examinations and naked spankings.

This man testified that he ended up sleeping in the same bed as Martin and having to shower with him. The young man testified that Martin sexually abused him several times in bed and in the shower.

“I tried to mentally block it out,” he said. “It was painful.”

When asked why he never told anyone about the sexual abuse, the young man replied that it was out of shame and embarrassment.

“It’s demeaning as a man,” he said. “Most men don’t talk about it. … It’s not a stigma you want to live with.”

This victim was involved in Boy Scout programs through Martin. He participated in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) in high school and later joined the U.S. military.

Prosecutor: Martin was looking for young boys at risk

In his closing statement to the jury, Greene County Assistant District Attorney Conner Harris discussed reasons why Martin’s accusers should be believed, even though none of them reported the abuse to police on their own.

“It’s not a pleasant experience to testify in a public courtroom in front of a group of strangers, lawyers, your abuser and anyone who wants to walk through the door. It’s not an easy subject to talk about,” Harris said. “You can’t overstate how much courage it takes to sit in that chair and tell people about the worst things that have happened to them.”

Harris further described the “same basic plan” Martin used to groom and abuse children, which included seeking out young boys “who needed stability and a father figure” and then “exploiting that relationship.”

Harris said it was “absurd” to assume that Martin was “so unlucky” that three boys who did not know each other and were with Martin in different decades would independently decide to accuse him of “almost identical” sexual abuse.

“And that these three people are willing to go through this whole process and testify under oath about what happened to them – that’s really absurd. And that’s what the defense is going to ask you to believe,” Harris told the jury. “You don’t have to leave your common sense at the door. Please use your common sense. Don’t believe in an absurdity.”

“The defendant is a notorious child molester. In addition to his work as a Boy Scout and child care worker, the defendant has dedicated his life to meeting and abusing young boys,” Harris said. “He’s been doing this for decades. He’s been getting away with it for decades. And he can finally answer for the crimes he committed against (the three accusers).”

Defense: Prosecutors seek “selfish advantage”

Throughout the trial and in his closing argument, defense attorney Donavon Dobbs described the alleged victims’ allegations against Martin as “opportunities for selfish gain.”

Dobbs told the jury there was no physical evidence that any crimes were committed and argued the accusers were not credible. Dobbs pointed out that every accuser had the opportunity to tell someone they were abused, but did not do so until 2021, when they were approached by a Republic Police detective.

Dobbs reminded the jury that the second prosecutor who testified could not remember many details of what happened in 2009.

“These little details – if it really happened, he should remember them,” Dobbs said. “You might not know if it was sunny outside. You might not know if it was raining outside.”

“But if this had actually happened to you, you would remember more details,” Dobbs said. “We didn’t get any more details because it didn’t happen.”

“Unrestricted access to young boys”

Assistant District Attorney Sheri Tucker rejected Dobbs’ argument that the abuse allegations were opportunities for “selfish gain.”

“When we talk about selfish gain, we certainly want to talk about the defendant, a man who, for decades, tricked one institution after another into giving him unfettered access to young boys, vulnerable boys,” Tucker said just before the jury began deliberations. “A man who tricked one institution after another into trusting him before abusing that trust.”

Tucker continued to talk about Martin’s time as a Boy Scout leader and foster father to young boys.

“The defendant sought out the weak. He sought out those who did not have a trusted adult nearby to whom he could ask questions,” Tucker said. “He found boys who relied on him to meet their basic needs and he exploited them. Selfish gain.”

Naked tick checks and beatings

The jury found Martin not guilty of sexually abusing the youngest accuser, who is now 17 years old. This young man briefly lived with Martin as a foster child in the summer of 2020, when he was 13 years old.

The teen testified that Martin regularly forced him to strip naked to check him for ticks and to give him beatings with a paddle. The teen said Martin installed cameras throughout his home in Republic and forced the teen to walk around the house naked.

The then 13-year-old underwent a forensic interview at the Child Advocacy Center in Springfield in 2020, which initiated the investigation and ultimately led to charges.

Prosecutors say this young man was lucky that he was removed from Martin’s home early on, before the abuse escalated to the level it did with Martin’s other accusers. They argued the naked tick checks and beatings were Martin’s attempt to groom the boys and normalized being naked in front of him.

1997 prosecutor sues Boy Scouts of America

The third and oldest accuser to testify at Martin’s trial was a 37-year-old who met Martin in 1997, when he was 10 years old. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 235, which then met at Wesley United Methodist Church in South Springfield.

The jury found Martin not guilty of sexually abusing this person.

Yet this third man is part of a class-action lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America – a lawsuit that Martin’s defense attorney says is the real reason and motive for the man’s sexual abuse claims.

This man testified that in the late 1990s, his mother – a single mother – often worked out of town on weekends and allowed the then 10-year-old to stay overnight with Martin. He said Martin was like a father figure to him.

Jackie Rehwald

Jackie Rehwald is a reporter for the Springfield Daily Citizen. She covers public safety, courts, homelessness, domestic violence and other social issues. Her office number is 417-837-3659. More from Jackie Rehwald