Convicted sex offender arrested outside Mocksville preschool

Published 9:35 am Tuesday, July 15, 2025

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A registered sex offender was arrested last week outside a Mocksville preschool program, asking staff for money and food.
At 8 a.m. on July 8, workers at the program at First Methodist Church, 305 N. Main St., called the sheriff’s office to report the suspicious man, said Sheriff J.D. Hartman.
They found Robert William Martin Jr., 60, sitting on a bench.
“The suspect had been asking for money and food from the staff that were supervising children on the playground,” Hartman said.
Martin had no known address at the time, but his name came back from the National Crime Information Center saying that he was a registered sex offender from Randolph County. Martin had been charged with first-degree rape in Randolph County in 1994, and in 1996 pled guilty to second degree rape, when he was placed on the sex offender registry.
Davie deputies charged Martin with being a sex offender on child premises, and he was taken into custody in lieu of a $10,000 bond, pending a July 24 first appearance hearing in Davie District Court.
The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office charged Martin with failure to report his new address as a sex offender, and an additional $25,000 bond was added.