Hartford chiropractor charged with rape, 7 counts of sexual contact with minor: MCSO
Officials with the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office have arrested a Hartford chiropractor they say is now facing charges of rape and sexual contact with a minor.
The chiropractor and his victim had sex approximately 100 times, an arrest warrant affidavit states.
The department arrested Joel Christian Woo Martens, 31, shortly after 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sgt. Zachary Cegelski told media during a police briefing Tuesday morning. Cegelski said Martens was charged with one count of fourth degree rape with a victim who is older than 13 but younger than 16 years of age and seven counts of sexual contact with a child younger than 18 by a person of authority, all felonies.
"Martens is a chiropractor in Hartford and worked with many students in the area," Cegelski said.
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The victim, now a 17-year-old female athlete in the West Central School District, said she had been raped by a chiropractor for the last eight months, according to the court records.
The first incident of sexual contact occurred during a workout in May 2021 at Lemke’s Fitness and Training in Hartford when Martens helped coach the workout, court documents stated.
At that time, Martens spotted the victim as she was performing pull ups and as she did the excercise, he used his hands to digitally penetrate her, the court records state.
The victim, who was 15 at the time of the incident, did not say anything because she was shocked and confused, the records show.
In October 2021, when the victim ended up in a rehabilitation center following an ACL injury, Martens began texting her asking about her family and boyfriend, seeming at first to act as if he was her counselor, the victim stated in according the court records.
The victim later developed a groin pain from her workouts and went to chiropractor appointments with Martens in early 2022. During the first appointment that started as normal, Martens began massaging her inner thigh and then digitally penetrated her as well, the documents allege. The same happened at the next four appointments, the records state.
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Martens continued to massage the victim,m asking not to tell anyone and not to ruin his life and career, claiming what he was doing was good for the victim’s rehab and recovery from her injuries, the affdavit states.
In the end of April 2022, Martens’ assistant started taking Thursdays and Fridays off after having a child. Martens started to schedule his appointments with the victim for those days. While alone in his office with his victim, Martens for the first time allegedly used penile penetration on the victim, the records state.
The victim estimated between the end of April 2022 and the end of February 2023, she and Martins had sex about 100 times. She said no chiropractic work was done at the appointments anymore, according to the court records.
The victim said she and Martens exchanged nude pictures and videos via snapchat and cell phone messages, said the affidavit.
The victim also started babysitting for Martens’ two children at his home, and a few times he asked her to come earlier before the babysitting appointments, and they ended up having sex both times while Martens’s wife was not home at that time.
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The affidavit also mentioned the victim and Martens exchanged messages while the victim was with her family in Europe in the end of June and beginning of July 2023. Martens texted about missing their late-night talks and her physical touch.
The court records state the inappropriate relationship ended in about March 2022, according to the victim, with Martens giving her space. The victim's mother also presented a Valentine's Day note from Martens to her daughter where he stated that “she makes the holiday worth celebrating.”
The investigation is ongoing, and the sheriff's office is asking the public to provide any information they may have regarding the case, he said.
Martens' initial hearing happened at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, and a preliminary hearings have been scheduled for 3 p.m. Aug. 8 and 10:30 a.m. Sept. 8, court records show. His bond is set for $250,025, the Minnehaha County Jail bookin log shows.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Minnehaha County deputies arrest Hartford chiropractor on rape charge
