United States of America v. Canku Martinez

Sioux Falls, SD criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Kidnapping

Mission Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Kidnapping

Canku Martinez, age 22, was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2024. He was found guilty following a four-day jury trial in October of 2024.



In the early morning hours of October 29, 2023, Martinez agreed to give the juvenile victim a ride home from a party near Rosebud, South Dakota. Rather than give her a ride home, however, Martinez drove the victim to a secluded area outside of Rosebud and made sexual advances. When the victim rejected his advances, Martinez produced a knife. Martinez then forced the victim to engage in sexual activity. Martinez subsequently dropped the victim off at her residence and told her not to tell anyone what he had done. Martinez left the local area shortly thereafter. The offenses occurred within the Rosebud Indian Reservation.



"Bringing this defendant to justice is the result of tremendous cooperation between federal and tribal law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. "Mr. Martinez engaged in a despicable course of conduct in this case and subjected the victim to unthinkable sexual violence. The sentence he received today reflects the seriousness of his crimes.”



This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.



This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the FBI. Senior Litigation Counsel Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.



Martinez was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.