Judge tells Cobb molester he’ll ‘never get paroled and die in prison’

Robert Lee Martin (Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office)

Robert Lee Martin (Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office)

For four years, Robert Lee Martin molested a relative from the time she was 10 years old.

On Thursday, a judge sentenced the Marietta man to life in prison plus 90 years, hoping he’ll “never get paroled and die in prison.”

“If you will do this to your own flesh and blood, you’ll do it to anybody,” Cobb County Superior Court Judge Robert D. Leonard II said in court. “So now it falls to me to protect her and every other young girl in this community ... the best way to do that is to make sure you never walk around a free man in this community again.”

Martin, 37, was convicted June 22 of repeatedly molesting the girl. During the four-day trial, the victim detailed the abuse she’d experienced until she was 14 years old.

Cobb Assistant District Attorney David Williamson said the verdict sends a message that people should believe the victim.

“The true hero in this case is the victim,” Williamson said. “This young girl stood up in the face of the people who did not believe her and spoke the truth about what happened to her.”

In other news: