Saying "our children need protecting" from sexual predators, a Riverside County Superior Court judge Friday sentenced former Temecula Baptist preacher Kerry Clyde Martin to 205 years and eight months in prison for raping and molesting a teen-age member of his church.

Judge Russell F. Schooling handed down the sentence two years to the day after the teen-ager first accused Martin of kissing, groping and sexually assaulting her in his office at Temecula Valley Baptist Church.

The episodes began when the girl was 14 and ended 20 months later. The sentence was the maximum allowed by law and followed an emotional and tearful hearing at which supporters of the former church pastor and the victim testified.

Martin's friends and family sought leniency, saying he had learned his lesson and would never commit similar actions. But the victim said Martin's behavior devastated her and left her estranged from her family.

Schooling called the sentencing one of the most difficult he has faced in 25 years on the bench.

"I have agonized and prayed about this," Schooling said. "I have no way of knowing when or if my children or grandchildren will be safe in a church setting if they encounter Kerry Martin on someone like him. We have to stand as a civilized society. We cannot stand by idly and watch this activity occur. Our children need protecting.

"We can't send (children) the message that it's not bad for people to molest you. I guarantee I will not do that. If he becomes a productive citizen, it will be within the confines of a prison setting."

Prosecutor Deena Bennett said unless his sentence is reversed on an expected appeal, she expects Martin to die behind bars. Given the 43-year-old Martin's history of molestation, Bennett said his actions demanded the maximum sentence.

Three other women testified during Martin's trial that beginning in 1979, the charismatic minister used his charm and position as a youth pastor at other churches to befriend and later molest them.

Martin had never been charged with sexual misconduct. But in July 1997, he was found with a teen-age member of the church cleaning crew in his office and arrested, authorities said. While awaiting trial, the pastor was arrested for soliciting an undercover police officer for oral sex on University Avenue in Riverside.

"We have someone who is unbelievably obsessed with sexual behavior," Bennett said. "I hope and pray God has worked a miracle in his life -- but he still owes us. He owes a debt."

The most recent victim, now 18 and living in another state, said, "I will never feel safe until he is behind bars forever."

"He's had so many chances to get right," she said. "I want him to go through the hell I've gone through."

In a letter to the court, her mother said Martin's actions have ripped the family apart.

"(Martin) has left a long string of broken victims behind. He is the worst kind of con man in society. He must be stopped."

Before sentencing, Martin's attorney, Dale Earven, unsuccessfully sought a new trial, saying the jury acted with "passion and prejudice." Jurors convicted Martin in April of 20 counts each of lewd and lascivious behavior and five counts each of rape and statutory rape.

Earven did not deny that Martin was sexually involved with the girl but has said that the former minister never forced the girl into any physical encounter.

On Friday, he asked for "justice and mercy" and said he was appalled that Martin faced "three lifetimes in prison."

"What benefit does it do society to punish someone with three lifetimes in prison?" Earven said. "It makes no sense. It says that our humanity is baseless. It's not fair, it's not right and it's not what the system is about."

A sentence of 16 ½ years behind bars would send the message that Martin has committed serious crimes but would still allow him to win parole after 13 years and retake a place in society, Earven said.

Martin's wife, Kristal Martin, also pleaded for a lesser sentence. The Martins have a 4-year-old son, and Kristal Martin is pregnant with another son due in October. Tears streamed down her face as she addressed the court as her husband sobbed quietly at the defendant table.

Kristal Martin said her husband has undergone counseling that "has changed him completely.

"We have a son who loves his dad very much," Kristal Martin said. "Consider mercy so that our children might have the opportunity to be with their dad. I love him very much."

In a letter, Pastor Paul Mershon, who took over from Martin at Temecula Valley Baptist Church, said Martin's actions have "compromised and damaged" the church. The congregation's young people are "cynical, skeptical and not trusting of church leadership" as a result.

"It may well take years to restore our testimony here in Temecula, if ever," Mershon wrote. "Our church has been horribly stigmatized by the sins of one man."

Joe Vargo can be reached by e-mail at jvargo@pe.com or by phone at (909) 587-3130

Published 7/17/1999