Reporting the Truth.
Restoring the Church.

By Mark A. Kellner

 Milton Otto Martin III of First Pentecostal Church of Chalmette, Louisiana. (TRR Graphic)

A Louisiana Pentecostal pastor has been sentenced to seven years in prison for molesting a teenage girl 15 years ago. Milton Otto Martin III received the maximum punishment this week for the charge of “indecent behavior with a juvenile.”

In a statement read Wednesday at a suburban New Orleans court, the survivor described how Martin, now 58, warned her that her “world would turn upside down” if she reported his crimes.

As pastor of the First Pentecostal Church of Chalmette, he blamed her for his actions, saying he could not resist temptation, according to her statement.

The Guardian, a British newspaper, reported that the survivor, now 30, asked the judge for the harshest sentence available. Judge Darren Roy agreed and handed down the maximum allowed for the charge.

Martin was initially charged with felony carnal knowledge, Louisiana’s term for statutory rape, for engaging in oral sex with the victim when she was 16. Court documents also accused him of “lewd or lascivious” acts when she was between 15 and 17.

Pastor Otto Martin III of First Pentecostal Church of Chalmette has been arrested a second time for alleged child sex offenses. (Source: Twitter)

A jury acquitted Martin of carnal knowledge but convicted him of indecent behavior. The case is one of several high-profile cases of sexual abuse by religious leaders in the New Orleans area.

The case dates back to 2023 when the victim reported the pastor to Louisiana state police; however, other accusers have come up with allegations dating even further back. The Guardian noted that the victim has a civil lawsuit in the wings alleging that First Pentecostal did nothing to investigate those earlier claims.

John Denenea, an attorney for the survivor, said after sentencing he hoped the “maximum sentence to this perpetrator (meant) that pedophiles and their enablers will not escape the justice system.”

Judge Roy noted receiving more than 100 letters supporting Martin. But the judge said the crimes were “exceptionally severe, with permanent injury to the victim,” and rejected calls for leniency.

Authorities also interviewed other women who said that Martin abused them. Only two testified, however. The victim in the case gave her statement, describing ongoing anxiety, anger, shame and guilt, resulting from the abuse.

“What he did to me was selfish, despicable and egregious – utterly evil,” her statement read. “I struggle … with things that I should not have to deal with because they are not the consequences of my actions.”

She said Martin apologized after she got married, but she believed he was only seeking reassurance that she would remain silent.

The woman told the court, “I am hopeful that this … will carry out justice not just for me – but for all those who have been [affected] by the defendant’s betrayal of the position of authority and trust he held.”

Martin did not address the court on Wednesday. After serving his sentence, he will be required to register as a sex offender.