LUBBOCK, Texas — A Lubbock man was indicted Tuesday and accused of intentionally shoving a pacifier down an infant’s throat in 2018, according to a police report obtained by EverythingLubbock.com. He was also indicted for sexually assaulting a child.
Rico Martinez, 20, was arrested in August 2019 and booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center.
In August 2018, emergency services responded to a call about a 6-month-old choking on a pacifier. The infant was taken to a hospital by Emergency Medical Services, and police originally classified the call as medical.
However, according to the police report, a doctor told police that he suspected foul play because the entire pacifier was lodged deep into the throat of the infant – something the doctor believed could not have happened by accident.
The doctor “even stated he did not believe a grown man could have swallowed the object,” according to the police report. A surgeon also told police that she believed the pacifier had been lodged into the child’s throat with force.
The details of the sexual assault of a child charge were not included in the 2018 police report.
As of Thursday, Martinez remained in the Lubbock County Detention Center in lieu of a $200,000 bond.