Lloyd Martin

Lloyd Martin later on in life

Lloyd Hartley Martin (Dec. 19, 1942 - May 27, 2021) was an Arkansas-born California Police Detective who was a highly sought-after authority on Child Sexual Abuse during the American pornography panics of the 1980s. Like other moral entrepreneurs such as Judianne Densen-Gerber he went on to face discredit, following outspoken comments made against public institutions such as the Boy Scouts, and what appeared to be attempts to abuse his office.

He is the source of the often-circulated CSA "absurdism" "once a pedophile gets his grip on your son or daughter, you and I as parents cannot compete".

History

Martin joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1965. In 1976, he helped establish the department’s – and nation’s – first Sexual Exploitation Unit of the Juvenile Division.

In the late-70s and 80s, he became a "go-to expert" in the field of sexual exploitation of children, being interviewed by 60 Minutes for his work. Martin's uncompromising pursuit of "sexual predators" brought him prominence but also sparked controversy after he publicly criticized several organizations for what he said were inadequate efforts to screen the adults allowed to work with children. After political pressure from these organizations led to him being reassigned within the LAPD, he negotiated a retirement from the department in 1984.

Lloyd Martin is often recalled for his singular and unwavering focus on erotica involving boys. Said to be abrupt in person, his passionate defense of boyhood innocence was said to emanate from a genuine love of children. A follower of Little League Baseball, Martin was also said to have a love of animals.

Martin and the abuse "pipeline" or "slippery slope" myth

Martin was a firm believer in the theory that minors who were (as he put it) "seduced", would go on to commit indecent acts themselves. This is also known as the "abused-abuser" relationship:

Detective Lloyd H. Martin, of the Sexually Exploited Child Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department said "When a child has been coerced or seduced into giving his only true possession - his body - he loses his self respect and his morality. If he doesn't care about himself, how can he care about somebody else? Such a child could be destroyed psychologically and may never be a productive member of our society". Sgt. Martin has also observed that "..the sexually exploited child of today has a good possibility of becoming the hardcore criminal of tomorrow."