A now-former Isanti police officer was sentenced to one year and one day in prison Monday for sending a lewd photo to his friend’s 13-year-old daughter through Snapchat and — after her friend saw it — telling her to say it was not his.

Nicholas Martell’s victim told the court that she trusted him because he was a police officer and her dad’s best friend. She said her dad shared her cellphone number with Martell because he would be someone she could trust and talk with about her struggles with her mental health.

But over time, Martell abused that trust, she said in a victim impact statement read by Assistant Anoka County Attorney Kelly Sinton. The night before her 14th birthday, Martell commented on a Snapchat photo she posted while working out at a gym, asking why she and her friend had their butts covered up by their T-shirts. “His comment about our butts made us think ‘ew that was gross,’ ” the girl said.

Martell then “played into my vulnerability with bribery,” she said, adding he knew that she was addicted to vaping at the time. “He told me that if I uncovered my butt that he would buy me a vape,” she said. “So what did I do? I said okay, and I uncovered my butt to get the nicotine I craved.”

Later that night, about 20 minutes before her 14th birthday, Martell texted the girl on Snapchat and “asked me if I wanted to see it,” she said. “When I replied with, ‘I don’t care’ and not a yes or no” he sent her a picture of his penis.

Martell, 31, of Isanti, was charged in Anoka County District Court in August with one count of distributing via electronic communication sexually explicit material to children. The Anoka County Attorney’s Office handled the case for Isanti County to avoid a perceived conflict of interest.

Martell admitted to the offense in February and his sentence was agreed upon as part of a plea agreement with the prosecution. As part of his plea, Martell acknowledged aggravating factors: the victim was “particularly vulnerable” because of her age and mental health; his “abuse of authority” as a police officer; and that he reached out afterward and asked her to lie. With his plea, a federal indictment relating to transfer of obscene material to a minor would not be pursued.

The sentence is an upward departure from state sentencing guidelines because the presumptive sentence for Martell, who has no prior criminal offenses, is a stayed 15-month prison term.

Martell was hired by the Isanti Police Department as an officer on Feb. 27, 2023, and let go shortly after the charge was filed. He was a St. Paul police officer for five years prior to joining Isanti police.

He asked the girl if she ‘liked it’

The criminal complaint says the girl’s father contacted law enforcement on Aug. 3 to report that his friend, Martell, had sent a penis photo to his daughter on July 27.

The father had previously reached out to Martell to help with her mental health because she was being bullied at school and had depression, according to the plea document.

Law enforcement interviewed the Isanti girl, who initially was reluctant to discuss her communications or relationship with Martell. She ultimately said that prior to sending the photo, Martell had asked her if she wanted to “see it.” After sending the photo, Martell asked the girl if she “liked it.”

The next day, Martell apologized for sending the photo and asked her not to tell anyone.

The girl sent Martell a message letting him know that one of her friends had seen the photo and that her friend was upset. Martell messaged the girl through Snapchat, telling her that she “needs to call me alone.”

She called Martell, who was on-duty, and her friend recorded the conversation. At the beginning of the call he asked if she was alone and then asked her to tell the friend that it was a “different Nick” who sent the photo.

Martell then pleaded with the girl, saying that he could go to prison because of the photo. The girl ended the call, telling him that her sister was coming upstairs. He later messaged the girl and asked when they could talk again.

Law enforcement examined the girl’s cellphone and Martell’s and requested search warrants from Snapchat to conduct a forensic analysis, “but from what was presently viewable,” the complaint states, “it is clear that the communication was far more extensive than initially disclosed by (the girl) both on the day the photograph was sent and in the days and months prior.”

‘He truly disgusts me’

The victim’s father said he had met Martell while they both had worked as security officers at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. They became friends and their families got to know each other.

“Your Honor, Nick took complete advantage of my middle daughter,” he said. “And what’s sad is that he admitted to using his authority to gain access to her through being a police officer, and my best friend.”

The girl told the court that Martell stopped over for dinner several times while he was on-duty. One time, Martell commented on her physical features “while standing at my counter in my own home,” she said, adding her dad was home at the time. Another night, he stopped by while on-duty and while her parents were at a wedding. Martell vaped in her bedroom, leaving after her friend’s mother asked why he was there.

“Your Honor, if I can be honest, he truly disgusts me,” the victim said. “He is no best friend to my father and definitely no man of law. He took my self-love and my dignity away.”

Martell’s attorney, Christa Groshek, told the court he denies allegations that he was grooming the girl and that he has taken responsibility for sending the photo. Upon pleading guilty, Groshek told the Pioneer Press that he was drunk when he sent the photo.

Before hearing his sentence, Martell apologized to the girl and her family. “I know what I did was wrong. And I pray for you guys each and every day, morning and night, that you guys can truly heal and recover from this and get past this,” he said. He will receive 75 days of credit for time already served in custody.

Judge Melissa Saterbak told Martell that his comments in his psychosexual evaluation and presentence investigation “makes it very clear that you don’t accept the full responsibility of your actions.”

“There absolutely was grooming behavior here,” Saterbak said. “The fact that you don’t recognize that and don’t admit it is going to be problematic for you in the future if you can’t learn how to handle that or deal with it.”

After the sentencing, attorney Lori Peterson said she is representing the victim and her family in a lawsuit they plan to file against Martell and the city of Isanti within the next week.