Steven J. Martin, 60, was arraigned on one felony count of sexual abuse of children.
Martin worked as a paraprofessional in the Frenchtown School District. The district issued a statement shortly after Martin was arrested saying the allegations had nothing to do with his employment, and that he was placed on unpaid leave with a pending school board hearing to terminate his employment.
Missoula County District Court Judge Jason Marks presided in Monday's hearing. If convicted, Martin faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Missoula County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched Feb. 14 to a residence in Frenchtown for a welfare check and possible sexual assault report involving Martin, according to court documents.
Two teen boys, ages 16 and 18, who were temporarily living at Martin’s house, confronted him about finding a camera in their bathroom, charging documents read. Martin said he had cameras in the kitchen, upstairs bathroom, and each of the boy’s bedrooms. He told law enforcement he would watch the video recordings collected from the cameras, describing them as entertainment.
He installed the cameras in August 2021, about a month before the boys moved in with him, and would view the recordings two to three times a week.
At Martin’s initial appearance on Feb. 15, Missoula County Deputy Attorney Mark Handelman said there was a reported incident where a 17-year-old girl was at Martin’s house, and when she exited the bathroom he was standing naked in the hallway. She then relayed to one of the male victims that Martin had touched her breasts at a party.
There were no details in charging documents on why the boys were staying at Martin’s house or if they are Frenchtown students.
At Monday's hearing, Martin's attorney, Will Managhan, requested a bond reduction. Martin is held on $200,000 bail in the Missoula jail. Managhan argued his client presents no flight risk and has zero criminal history; he requested Martin be released on his own recognizance or that bond be set below $50,000.
Handelman disclosed the "rapidly evolving" investigation has unveiled Martin's videos were uploaded to digital spaces including Google Drive and iCloud. Multiple hard drives, SD cards, phones and computers have been collected. Numerous videos viewed by detectives depicted teenagers, some under 18 years of age and some over, engaged in sexual acts.
"The fact of the matter is these crimes are easily repeatable," Handelman said, adding from the state's perspective that while Martin is ordered not to have any devices with internet capabilities, there are no pretrial conditions in place that would actually be able to monitor this while the case is pending.
Judge Marks denied the bail request. Martin's next court hearing is set for April 28 in Missoula County District Court.
