ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A former Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) bus driver pleaded guilty to raping three women between 1988 and 1991. The 61-year-old man, Ralph Martinez, admitted to assaulting the women and pleaded guilty to six counts of criminal sexual penetration in court on Thursday.
According to the district attorney’s office, Martinez broke into the homes of women he did not know and raped them.
The district attorney says one event occurred in 1988 when a 19-year-old victim was raped in the neighborhood of Wyoming Boulevard and Indian School Road. They say a man broke into the victim’s home while the victim was sleeping and threatened her with a knife.
Another event occurred in August 1991, according to the district attorney’s office. Again, a victim was raped after a home break-in near the 8000 Block of Aspen Ave. NE, not far from the 1988 crime scene. Officials say the perpetrator threatened the 35-year-old victim with the victim’s own gun and eventually fled, leaving behind underwear and a shirt.
The next event occurred just days after the August 1991 incident, according to the district attorney’s office. An 18-year-old was sexually assaulted after a perpetrator broke into her apartment while she was sleeping. This incident was not located close to the previous two.
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Each of the three victims went to the hospital and provided DNA evidence, officials say. In 2020, APD’s Sex Crime Unit found that the perpetrator’s DNA matched in all three cases. Investigators ran that DNA through genealogy databases, which pointed them toward Martinez. The district attorney’s office says Martinez was confirmed as a DNA match based on a collection taken from the APS school bus he drove.
Matinez was arrested in July 2023. Now, Martinez faces up to 30 years in the Department of Corrections at sentencing.
“I want to tell you how incredibly proud I am of this team. These victims have been through so much trauma because of Martinez. We hope this brings them some sense of justice,” said DA Sam Bregman.
