photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Romeo D. Martinez

Updated at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 2

An Emporia man who was accused of raping a woman in 2022 at her Lawrence apartment was convicted on Wednesday in Douglas County District Court of the lesser offense of aggravated battery.

As part of a plea deal with the state, the defendant, Romeo Devontay Martinez, entered a no contest plea to an amended complaint of one felony count of aggravated battery with a finding that the crime was sexually motivated.

Judge Stacey Donovan told Martinez that at his sentencing hearing on June 5 he could face a term of 62 to 69 months, or 5.1 to 5.7 years, assuming that his criminal history score is a “D” as the parties believe. A score of “A” is the most severe criminal history, while “I” indicates a prior misdemeanor or no record.

Court records show that Martinez was convicted in July 2022 of felony criminal threat in Lyon County and was sentenced to six months in prison, which was suspended to 12 months of probation, in accordance with Kansas sentencing guidelines.

Martinez will also be subject to three years of post-release supervision and will have to register as a sex offender for 15 years.

Martinez has been on house arrest and GPS monitoring since August of last year. Donovan on Wednesday granted a request to lift the house arrest portion of his bond restrictions, pending sentencing, but imposed a curfew of 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily.

As the Journal-World reported, a 21-year-old woman accused Martinez, also in his early 20s, of raping her on Dec. 5, 2022, when he stayed over at her apartment after a party.