CONCORD, NH — A previous member of Concord's unhoused community was arrested last month after being accused of raping a woman who let him sleep on a couch in late January 2025 at the Concord Gardens apartment complex, according to police.
James Martin, 36, now homeless in White River Junction, Vermont, was arrested on July 22 on a single felony count of aggravated felonious sexual assault.
Concord police began investigating the allegation of rape against Martin not long after the incident, when the victim, a woman in her early 20s, was interviewed by police and the Merrimack County Advocacy Center in early February 2025.
The woman said on Jan. 27, 2025, a relative picked her up at the hospital to receive treatment for an infection. The plan was to get antibiotics at a nearby CVS, but the store was closed. Later, the victim left the apartment, and when she returned, several other people were there.
One of the men, named "James," said he had no place to go, and it was cold outside. The victim asked a family member if Martin was a good man, and he vouched for him, according to an affidavit. Later, she agreed to let him sleep on a couch, according to a report.
According to witnesses, Martin was there to provide tattoo services to her roommate but was unable to do the job because the right equipment was not available. Instead, they all watched a movie, a report said. After, the parties separated, and the victim provided Martin with a blanket, retired to her room, and fell asleep, a detective wrote.
Later, she woke up to Martin on top of her, covering her mouth, and raping her, the affidavit said. The victim heard Martin say she was going to be "his next wife" and she was going to have his kids, the report stated.
At this point in the interview, the victim began crying, the detective said, after she was asked to explain specifics about the attack. The attack, according to the victim, lasted a couple of hours, and after, he went to sleep. When she knew he was asleep, she left her bedroom and waited until 8 a.m. so she could get her medication, the detective wrote. When she returned, she waited for her roommate to wake up and asked him to throw Martin out, the report said.
The victim provided a physical description of Martin — which included various tattoos, including "74" on his back, "ha ha ha" on his face, a teardrop on the side of his face, and sleeves, the report stated. She was also asked whether she ever saw him again. She said she did, once, on Burns Avenue, on the same day he was removed from the apartment, the report said. Martin was confronted by her "baby daddy" about what happened. Martin suggested the victim "take a lie detector test" and "that she wanted everything that happened to her," the affidavit said.
Editor's note: This post was derived from information provided by the Concord Police Department and Concord District Court and does not constitute a conviction. This link explains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.
The victim also accused Martin of attempting to rape her with an intimate massager.
Police interviewed the victim's ex, who said he arrived at the apartment later that day to drop off the couple's child and noticed she was "acting odd" and "appeared nervous."
When he asked what was wrong, she declined to say. Later, the ex found out what happened and the victim said she was worried about becoming pregnant, the report stated. The ex said the victim "felt bad for him" because he did not have a place to sleep, which is why she said it was OK for him to sleep on the couch.
"(She is) a nice person like that," the man said.
While he did not notice any bruises, the report stated he did confirm other injuries.
While walking with the child on Burns Avenue, they saw Martin, and that was when the ex confronted him, the detective wrote. The man told Martin to stay away from the victim and "that is when James brandished a firearm in his waistband and began yelling at (the ex)," suggesting she "take a lie detector test because she was lying," the affidavit said.
In late August 2025, two detectives went to the Grafton County Department of Corrections in Haverhill where Martin was being held on unrelated charges, the report said.
After being read his rights, they told him they were working on a case in Concord. The detective accused Martin of saying he had not been in Concord "in forever" and had been living in Lebanon for almost a year. When asked if he had been homeless in Concord in January 2025, he said he was not. He also denied knowing the renters of the apartment at Concord Gardens but admitted staying there "maybe" two weeks, the report stated.
When told he was offered a couch by a woman in the apartment at the time and asked if it rang a bell, Martin stated No, the detective wrote. Martin also denied knowing where Concord Gardens, Loudon Road, and East Side Drive were, the report said.
Detectives then took another tack — explaining that evidence was collected and they wanted to hear his side of the story, especially if sex with the victim was consensual.
"James responded by saying, 'to be honest, I've had sex with so many women'," the affidavit said.
Martin said while in Concord he was focused on obtaining drugs and was not thinking about anybody, anyone's names, or who he was hanging out with; "he was worried about getting high," the detective wrote. He was accused of denying being at the apartment again. One detective returned to the DNA evidence they had and how it might point to him, according to the report. Martin replied, "No, I never raped anybody; I never did anything," the affidavit said, adding he had sex with numerous girls while in Concord, sleeping on the streets, "bouncing around."
Later, Martin was accused of saying, "I mean, if my DNA is there, I didn't rape anyone. I wasn't in an apartment up there. I was f----- up all the time," and offering to take a lie detector test.
When asked about what drugs he was using, Martin said he was using about a ball of methamphetamine every two days, according to the report, but had sobered up in jail.
At the end of the interview, one of the detectives suggested Martin contact them if anything came to mind now that he had a clear head and was sober. The detective added he found it hard to believe he would have no recollection of the sex even if he were high.
"James proceeded to say, 'I know I didn't rape this girl'," the detective wrote.
The detective said he believed Martin knew about the woman they were asking about. He then said he remembered being around a girl while in Concord when he was at a friend's house or hotel room, but it was not an apartment, the affidavit said. He said he was "f------ around" with the girl and began asking about the DNA and whether he would be charged, the report said.
When asked again if he remembered anything, Martin alluded to a girl at a friend's house when they were all hanging out, the report said. The detective said what he was describing sounded a lot like the incident they were investigating. After Martin was shown a picture of the apartment building, he confirmed hanging out with friends at the apartment, said he had sex with the woman, but denied raping her, the affidavit said.
"I remember what you're talking about now," Martin allegedly said later in the interview.
Martin claimed the interaction started on the couch, where they had sex once, and later, led to her room, where they had sex one or two more times. When asked if he knew her name, he said he did not and confirmed he had used meth before the incident, the report said. Martin confirmed an interaction with the woman's ex but denied showing a weapon or threatening anyone, the report said, adding the ex was running his mouth.
An affidavit was filed and an arrest warrant for Martin was issued in early June.
Probable cause was found by the Concord District Court judge on July 23.
Martin was released on personal recognizance when he found housing approved by pretrial services on July 31. He was ordered to stay at least 500 feet away from the victim and not to drink any alcohol or possess a firearm. Martin's case was boundover from Concord District Court to Merrimack County Superior Court on Aug. 10. He's due back in superior court on Oct. 8.
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