An Atlantic City man accused of sexually assaulting sleeping men will have a detention hearing Friday.
Dwayne Martin Jr., 35, had been wanted since April, after an investigation found "reason to believe he targets sleeping men for (his) own sexual gratification," according to the affidavit of probable cause previously reported by BreakingAC.
He was arrested last week after a car stop in Egg Harbor City on an unrelated matter.
Martin was supposed to have a detention hearing Tuesday. The public defender initially was consenting to detention pending getting more evidence from the state in the case, until it was found that Martin retained private counsel.
Attorney Mark Roddy will be representing him.
The investigation began in Brigantine, when a man told police Sept. 2, 2024, that he was staying at an AirBnB with friends when he woke up to a strange man performing a sex act on him, according to the report.
The suspect left the residence when confronted, the victim told police.
Martin met the group outside a bar in Margate, while they were ordering a Lyft, according to the affidavit. It is believed Martin found out where they were staying by looking at the phone of the person who requested the ride.
Evidence of more assaults were found after Martin's phone was seized, the affidavit states. In one, he was committing a sexual act while inside the victim's car with the victim asleep.
The victim in that case told investigators that Martin was an acquaintance he knows as "D. Wade," but that he was unaware of the sex act being performed near him in the vehicle as he slept.
Text messages also were found in Martin's phone in which two men accused Martin of sex act while they were sleeping near him, and are believed to be out of Camden County, the affidavit states. They were contacted and gave statements.
When Martin was stopped for seizure of his electronic devices and DNA, he sent messages to someone telling them to delete his Facebook and Instagram, according to the affidavit.
DNA evidence linked Martin to the Brigantine victim, according to a report from the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences.
A warrant was issued for Martin's arrest in April, with charges that included second-degree sexual assault, third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, third-degree burglary and fourth-degree tampering with evidence in the Brigantine case.
He was also charged on a warrant out of Atlantic City for third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact.
Police are asking anyone with information about the unreported incidents to call Brigantine police at 609-266-7414 or the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit at 609-909-7800.
No photo of Martin was provided.
