Sentencing delayed for North Bergen pastor convicted of child molestation

By Patrick Villanova
Jersey Journal
May 14, 2017

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2017/05/sentencing_delayed_for_north_bergen_pastor_convict.html

Gregorio Martinez, right, of Jersey City, looks towards the gallery of the courtroom during a break in his trial on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Martinez is charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact involving a minor, endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse. Reena Rose Sibayan

Hudson County Prosecutors Office Det. Raquel Krause is sworn in before testifying during the trial of Gregorio Martinez, of Jersey City, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Martinez is charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact involving a minor, endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse. Reena Rose Sibayan

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Linda Claude-Oben questions a witness during the trial of Gregorio Martinez, of Jersey City, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Martinez is charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact involving a minor, endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse. Reena Rose Sibayan

Defense attorney Louis Serterides cross-examines Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Det. Raquel Krause during the trial of Gregorio Martinez, of Jersey City, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Martinez is charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact involving a minor, endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse. Reena Rose Sibayan

The long-delayed sentencing of a North Bergen pastor convicted of child molestation has been adjourned until this summer. 

Gregorio Martinez, who in 2015 was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy and left the country before being sentenced for his crime, was set to learn his fate this morning. However, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said the sentencing has been postponed until July 7.

In February 2015, Martinez was convicted of touching a 13-year-old's genital area and kissing him on the lips inside a minivan in 2012. Martinez, who was out on bail during his trial, remained a free man until his sentencing but was nowhere to be found when that day came. 

NJ Advance Media tracked Martinez to Nicaragua in early 2016 and he was arrested in neighboring Honduras in late August. He was swiftly transferred to a detention facility in Miami and fought extradition to New Jersey, but was returned to Hudson County in December.

Martinez, a self-described prophet and exorcist who claims the ability to speak in tongues, faces similar charges for allegedly molesting at least two others. He recently turned down a plea deal that would have seen him serve 10 years for the 2009 sexual assault of a now-19-year-old man. 

Ray Worrall, a spokesman for the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, said today's proceeding was postponed because additional pre-sentencing reports "are pending."