High School Coach Arrested for Sexual Relationship with Underage Student
Michael Martis booking photo
SACRAMENTO — A former softball coach at a Sacramento private Catholic high school was arrested last week on multiple charges including having a sex with a minor on the team.
Michael Martis, 57, a coach at St. Francis High School from 2010 to 2014, turned himself in to Sacramento County Jail on Thursday, June 9, 2016. He was booked on numerous charges but released the next day, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.
Martis’s inappropriate relationship with the 16-year-old girl began with inappropriate texts that led to several sexual encounters in 2013. The relationship continued even after Martis transferred to Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills in 2014.
When the parents found out about the relationship after intercepting texts between Martis and their daughter in late 2015, they called police. By this time, the unlawful relationship had been going on for two years.
St. Francis High School President Margo Reid Brown released a statement that read:
“At various times, Mr. Martis coached JV or varsity softball at St. Francis from 2010 to 2014. He passed the fingerprint background check we require of all staff and volunteers prior to working with students and he left on good terms when he started coaching at another local school in 2014. During his association with St. Francis High School, we received no complaints about Mr. Martis.”
The El Dorado High School District also released a statement:
“Oak Ridge High School and the El Dorado Union High School District’s top priority is always the safety and well-being of our students and staff. We have learned that the Sacramento Police Department has arrested Michael Martis for allegedly having an unlawful sexual relationship with a St. Francis Catholic High School student. Mr. Martis was the varsity softball coach at Oak Ridge High School for one season, the spring of 2015. Oak Ridge High School and the District will continue to cooperate with the Sacramento Police Department in this matter.”
Martis could not be reached for comment last Friday.
Sacramento police asked those with information about this crime to call 916-264-5471 or Crime Alert at 916-443-HELP (4357). They can also file an anonymous tip using the free “P3 Tips” smartphone app. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
