July 22, 2025
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
An Allentown man faces decades in prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.
Joshua Mickey Martel, 32, paid the girl’s mother in drugs and cash, according to a statement from Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan.
After making the payment, the girl’s mother left her daughter with Martel in a hotel room.
The girl’s mother was also charged. She was not identified to protect the identity of the victim.
Martel also faced charges for another assault. He pleaded guilty, Holihan said, and faces 21 to 50 years in prison.
Here’s the statement from District Attorney Holihan:
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 
This is another example of the horrible crime wave taking over our community. Is this man and woman from the Allentown area? Where they born and raised here? Did we do something wrong as a community raising and educating these two horrible people? Or did they move her from NY or NJ as part of the wave of new people coming to the region.
Something needs to be done to stop this stuff.
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Also what about the Hotel, has this place been used regularly for this “man” -i use that term lightly- to assault young girls? Are they just looking the other way? Most rape victims, especially virgins hurt enough to out in pain or scream and hotel walls are notoriously thin especially the “ not very expensive ones” didn’t any of the desk staff notice the coming and going of preteen girls especially ones in cabs or Ubers? Have we as a society become conditioned to turn a blind eye or hear suspicious sounds and ignore them instead of reporting them? When did our mantra become see nothing, do nothing, say nothing? even when you see a suspicious number of young girls being dropped off at a mans hotel room and hear what may be whimpering or crying coming through the wall… not to mention the bed noises common in motels- easily heard in adjacent rooms how can people pretend not to think something fishy is going on.
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Throw the key away.
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