Allentown man arrested for raping two teenage girls, police say – NBC10 Philadelphia

Warning: This story contains graphic details of alleged sexual abuse and may be disturbing to some readers.

According to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office, a man from Allentown, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged in connection with an investigation into child rape, human trafficking and sexual assault.

Joshua Mickey Martel, 31, was charged with numerous sexual offenses following the attack on two young girls, authorities said.

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According to authorities, a 12-year-old girl reported to a guardian on July 31 that her mother had sold her to Martel for cash and drugs.

Officials said sometime between April 23 and 24, the girl told investigators her mother took her and her siblings to a hotel in the 1000 block of Airport Road in Allentown, where they shared a room with Martel.

The girl told investigators she saw her mother take cash and drugs from Martel before leaving her alone with him in the hotel room, officials said. Martel sexually and physically abused the girl. She tried to escape, but Martel wouldn’t let her.

In the second case, officials said, a school police officer received information that the 13-year-old girl might be in
the same hotel on Airport Road with Martel.

Police said the 13-year-old in that case was picked up by an Uber after school on May 21 and did not show up at school the next day. Officers found her in Martel’s hotel room and she claimed he sexually assaulted her.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

In the first case, involving the 12-year-old girl, Martel was charged with rape of a child, rape by coercion, sexual assault, human trafficking and grooming a victim into sexual servitude (all first-degree felonies); sexual assault (second-degree felony); enticement of a minor (third-degree felony); indecent assault without consent and simple assault (both second-degree misdemeanors), according to officials.

In the second case, involving the 13-year-old girl, Martel is charged with sexual abuse of a minor and unauthorized contact with a minor (both first-degree felonies), as well as enticement of a minor and sexual abuse of children – possession of child pornography (both third-degree felonies), according to officials.

Authorities said Martel was taken into custody and arraigned on Wednesday, with bail set at $500,000 for both cases. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10.

Officials also note that the 12-year-old victim’s mother is also charged with child rape, human trafficking, sexual exploitation of a child and simple assault. She is in the Lehigh County Jail on $350,000 bail.