Sex Assault Alleged in Catonsville High Stairway: Police

CATONSVILLE, MD — A former Catonsville High School teacher was indicted by a grand jury recently related to sex abuse that allegedly occurred in 2003, according to the Baltimore County Police Department. The charges came after a similar case surfaced in Anne Arundel County, where the man also taught and has been convicted on sex abuse charges.

Nathan Lee Martin, 39, of the 300 block of Community Road in Severna Park, is charged with sex abuse, second-degree assault and two counts of fourth-degree sex offense.

Martin allegedly touched a 16-year-old girl in the chest area, put his hands between her legs and tried to kiss her on a staircase at Catonsville High School, police said. The teen reportedly pushed him away.

The incident occurred after Martin had been supervising a scrimmage between the boys and girls basketball teams at Catonsville High School on Dec. 12, 2003, police said. He tried to get the girl to go into his classroom with him after the game but she did not, and police said the alleged sex abuse occurred after that.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department notified Baltimore County law enforcement of the allegations in February, officials reported.

Police there put out the call for potential victims to come forward in January after Martin was charged with sex offenses in Anne Arundel County, where he was a math teacher at Arundel High .

Related: Arundel High School Math Teacher Charged with Sex Offense

In that case, police said Martin called a 16-year-old girl into a classroom closet, hugged her and placed his hands on her buttocks. Police said the teacher then sat on a desk and pulled the student toward him so his face touched her chest. According to police, Martin told the teen she was beautiful and should be more confident. The incident occurred on Dec. 10, 2015, and was reported to authorities two days later.

Martin was convicted last week in that case, found guilty of sexually abusing a minor, second-degree assault and two counts of fourth-degree sex offense, according to court records.

When charges were brought in Anne Arundel County in January, the Catonsville High School victim saw Martin's picture on the news and contacted authorities, according to The Capital.

Police said Martin no longer works for Baltimore County Public Schools.

Over the years, Martin bounced back and forth between Anne Arundel and Baltimore County public school systems, teaching in the former until his contract expired June 30 and the latter until he resigned in 2009 for undisclosed reasons, The Capital reported. According to the newspaper, the teen in Catonsville spoke with social services, the principal was notified and Martin was placed on administrative leave.

Martin was indicted July 6 by a grand jury in the Catonsville High School case and will face trial Oct. 27 in Baltimore County.

In the Arundel High School case, his sentencing will be Sept. 12 in Anne Arundel County.

Pictured, Nathan Lee Martin. Photo courtesy of the Baltimore County Police Department.