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Fate of North Bergen deacon/prophet charged with sexually abusing boy now in jury's hands
By Michaelangelo Conte
JERSEY CITY -- During closing arguments today in the trial of a church deacon accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy, the prosecution said the victim knew his alleged molester as a prophet and exorcist, and believed his mother thought the alleged sexual contact was OK with her. "There was a lot of testimony about him 'delivering' people and exorcisms and removing demons and evil spirits from people," Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Linda Claude-Oben said today during summations in the trial of Gregorio Martinez, 47, of Jersey City. "This defendant, this prophet who could take out demons, ask yourself if (the victim) could have done something. Ask yourself if he would be confused and scared and not know what to do," she added. Martinez is charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact, child abuse and endangering the welfare of the 13-year-old in a car in a Walmart parking lot in North Bergen on June 10, 2012, officials said. At the time, he was a deacon at Third Bethesda Pentecostal Church in Union City, according to testimony. Based on testimony, the prosecutor said the victim's mother was practically Martinez's chauffeur and said the married woman would even clean Martinez's bedroom when asked. The day after the alleged incident, Martinez was with the victim's mother when she pick him up from school and he was disrespectful to his mother and said he wanted to go straight home. He said Martinez asked "Is this about last night?" The boy testified that his mother and Martinez were speaking in Spanish and he heard the word "kiss" but he could not follow the conversation, Claude-Oben said. "He figured it was OK with his mom and she wasn't angry," Claude-Oben added. Reinforcing that was the fact that his mother did not go to police. Instead, the family went on a planned vacation, the prosecutor said. Claude-Oben said that in late August 2012, the victim finally told his mom, "'Didn't you know what happened to me that night?' He told her the defendant touched him in the back of the minivan." The prosecutor also pointed to the boy's testimony in which he said: "I was still angry at my mom and I was really angry with the defendant." "If you believe (the boy), the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt" that Martinez is guilty," Claude-Oben said. During the trial the defense presented three alibi witnesses: Martinez's co-pastor at Elohim Church in North Bergen, her son, and another women, all of whom said that Martinez was at his co-pastor's Jersey City home on Aug. 10, 2012 for a day of socializing, dinner and prayer. The co-pastor and her son testified that he spent the night at their home. "All three versions of the alibi witnesses held together under cross examination," defense attorney Louis Serterides said in his summation today, adding that their testimony was buttressed by prior statements they gave to investigators and the co-pastor's testimony before the grand jury. Serterides told the jury they should not give much thought to the testimony about demons and exorcisms, stating they are a recognized practice in main stream religions. He also said there were many discrepancies in the state's case, too many to convict a man on such significant charges. "You will notice that the alleged victim is seated in the courtroom...Bear in mind that although the victim is seated in the courtroom, it is your obligation not to be swayed by his presence or by any other factor apart from the evidence in this case," Serterides said to the jurors. After closing arguments, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mitzy Galis-Menendez began instructing the jury on aspects of the law pertinent to the charges and they then began deliberations.
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