A former Jeffco Public Schools security guard and pastor will spend at least 18 years in prison after assaulting a student for more than two years.

Jefferson County District Court Judge Christopher Rhamey sentenced 68-year-old Rubel Tim Martinez to a minimum of 18 years in prison and a maximum of life on Tuesday after he was found guilty of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust following a four-day trial in January, according to a news release from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

He was also sentenced to probation of at least 20 years and up to life after release.

“His job was to ensure the safety of students, to protect kids. Instead of using that position of trust to do that, the defendant manipulated a 16-year-old into sexual acts,” Deputy District Attorney Kelsey Einhorn said in the release.

Police arrested Martinez on Aug. 16, 2024, after receiving a report from a former Lakewood High School student that Martinez allegedly assaulted her on and off the campus between 2014 and 2016, according to a previous news release from Lakewood police.

Martinez worked as a “Campus Security Supervisor” at Lakewood High School and at Jefferson Jr./Sr. High School between 2006 and 2022. He also ran an after-school clown club at Lakewood High School and worked as a pastor at Breakthrough Ministries in Weld County.

“To those who survived such trauma, I urge you to share your story and not let it eat you alive. We are not alone, and it was not our fault,” the victim said in a written statement. “I am elated and ever grateful for the justice that was served, as justice for an Indigenous woman is not often seen nor received, and now more than ever, I am inspired to continue to help others in the ways I have received help throughout this process.” 

Martinez’s arrest was one of seven sexual misconduct-related incidents throughout Jeffco Public Schools between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2026, including an investigation into David Weiss, the school district’s former chief of schools, that involved possession of child sexual assault material in December 2024.

Just last month, the Colorado Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee denied proposed Senate Bill 26-055 that would have created an online registry in the Colorado Department of Education for the disciplinary history of school personnel, allowing other districts’ administration to look into potential code of conduct violations before hiring a teacher or employee.

The idea was sparked by the Jeffco Public Schools administration and members of the district’s board spoke in favor of it, barring proposed amendments.