By Caroline Silva, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Crime & Public Safety | April 7, 2023

A man was convicted Thursday of repeatedly sexually abusing a teenager in Fulton County, officials said.

Valentin Martinez was found guilty of two counts of aggravated child molestation and two counts of child molestation in the abuse of a 13-year-old, Fulton District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Pallavi Purkayastha said. Sentencing is scheduled for April 17.

The 37-year-old was arrested in September 2021 and has been in jail since then. No information was provided about the abuse, but Purkayastha said Martinez tried to diminish the severity of it by claiming “sexsomnia” and “good character.”

According to a journal article published by the Oxford University Press, sexsomnia is “amnestic sexual behavior during sleep.”

Purkayastha said prosecutors were able to prove to the jury the details of the abuse that the victim provided in statements.

“A sexual predator was held accountable because of the courage and determination of a 13-year-old child,” District Attorney Fani Willis said in a statement. “There is no place in our society for people who prey on and sexually abuse children.”