FRESNO COUNTY, CA – A 57-year-old man who reportedly had a collection of over 1,000 DVDs of child pornography was handed down a six-month jail sentence followed by probation earlier in September by a judge appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom.

On May 18th of 2021, detectives with the Central Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) arrested Michael Martin following the execution of a search warrant at his home located along the 2600 block of E. Andrews Avenue in Fresno after receiving a tip Martin was in possession of child pornography.

Image Credit: Fresno County Sheriff's Office

Go Ad-Free, Get Exclusive Shows and Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

According to the press release from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office at the time of Martin’s arrest, authorities recovered “more than a thousand DVDs containing videos of children being raped,” as well as an unspecified amount of “electronic devices and books containing explicit photos and videos.”

Per the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, detectives who’d worked on Martin’s case described the bust as “one of the largest collections of child pornography they have ever come across in an investigation.”

Images of the illicit collection were shared by the sheriff’s office, which emphasized Martin’s unsettling curation of child abuse materials.

Image Credit: Fresno County Sheriff's Office

Image Credit: Fresno County Sheriff's Office

Bail was set at $40,000 at the time of Martin’s arrest, which he reportedly posted shortly after being booked into jail and was released from custody.

Go Ad-Free, Get Exclusive Shows and Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

After spending more than a year out on the street, Martin stood before Fresno County Superior Court Judge Leanne Le Mon on September 20th for sentencing in the child porn case following a plea of no contest.

Despite the alarming amount of child sexual abuse materials recovered from Martin’s home last May, Judge Le Mon sentenced Martin to 180 days in jail followed by two years of probation, as well as requiring Martin to register as a sex offender in accordance with California law.

After Martin was sentenced, he was ordered into custody at the Fresno County Jail, having also been given credit for one day served in jail against his sentence for his arrest last May.

But jail records show that Martin likely won’t even have to serve the entire six months behind bars, as his remand order booking information shows a projected release date of December 19th, 2022 – meaning the sex offender could make it back home in time for Christmas.

Martin’s attorney Ernest Scott Kinney confirmed that his client is eligible for release this December, while also making the claim that most of the DVDs seized by law enforcement last May were of content depicting adults and that detectives only found “a flash drive in his closet that had some child porn photos and several videos.”

The judge responsible for Martin’s lenient sentence was appointed by Governor Newsom back in July of 2021, with the press release from Governor Newsom’s office announcing her appointment identifying Judge Le Mon as “a Democrat.”

This piece was written by Gregory Hoyt on September 22, 2022. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com and is used by permission.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of DrewBerquist.com. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.