Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
A former Menominee chief justice and tribal prosecutor is scheduled for sentencing in federal court in May on a child pornography charge.
Joseph H. Martin, 54, pleaded guilty last month to one count of receiving child pornography as part of a plea agreement in U.S. District Court in Green Bay.
According to court records, the count itemized child porn in Martin’s possession that included a 23-minute video showing a prepubescent female performing a sexual act.
Authorities launched an investigation in January of last year after an area IP address was found to be using a peer-to-peer file sharing network known to traffic in child pornography, according to court documents.
Over the next several months, undercover officers downloaded numerous files being shared by that IP address, including videos that featured minors identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The IP address was eventually traced to Martin at his home address in Keshena, according to court records. Authorities executed a search warrant at his residence Oct. 14, seizing three laptops, five thumb drives and one tablet containing about 100 child pornography videos, the records state.
Martin was originally charged in November with two counts of transporting child pornography. One count was dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Martin could have faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and supervised release of anywhere from five years to life.
The plea agreement calls for the government to recommend a five-year prison sentence, which is the minimum under the law. Martin would also have to register as a sex offender.
Martin is scheduled for sentencing May 11.
Martin served as chief justice for the tribe in the early 2000s and later as tribal prosecutor.
Calls to the tribal chairman’s office and Tribal Court for comment and information regarding how long he served in those positions were not returned Wednesday afternoon.
Martin also served as chief legislative counsel for the Little River Band of the Ottawa Indians in Michigan before becoming Menominee tribal prosecutor.
According to information in the search warrant request, Martin was employed with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections at the time the warrant was executed.