A former Boston Police officer who pleaded guilty to secretly filming a naked child was banned last week from working in law enforcement in Massachusetts by the state’s police oversight board.

The officer, Joe Martinez, faced 15 charges after his arrest in March 2022, including photographing the intimate areas of a child and capturing images of a nude person without their knowledge. Prosecutors later brought an additional charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, according to records on file in Norfolk County Superior Court.

Martinez, a Boston police officer since 2008, pleaded guilty to all 16 charges in March of last year. He was sentenced to three to five years in state prison and committed to the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a maximum security facility in Lancaster.

In a notice posted online last week, the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission said it revoked Martinez’s license for police work, permanently barring him from serving with a police department or sheriff’s office in the Bay State.

Martinez’s conviction has not been previously reported.

The board was created through a 2020 police reform law to increase transparency and scrutiny of law enforcement amid the national reckoning with police misconduct sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

Under the new law, police were required to hold a certification to work in Massachusetts. Martinez is the 40th police officer to lose licensure since the commission began exercising its decertification authority in 2023.

The board has pulled officers’ certifications for a variety of misbehavior. Many — though not all — faced criminal convictions, which mandate their decertification under state law.

The first officer decertified by the commission was accused of marching in the 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Other officers lost their certifications over accusations of on-the-job drug use or falsification of police reports and records.

Martinez was accused of placing a camera in a shower, repeatedly filming the unsuspecting child, the Boston Globe reported after his arrest, citing prosecutors and a police report.

Martinez was placed on administrative leave when he was arrested, the Boston Police Department said at the time.

A department spokesperson said Friday that Martinez had been fired.

The commission will submit Martinez’s name to a national registry of decertified police officers. The move could alert police departments nationwide to the former officer’s history if he attempted to return to law enforcement after leaving prison.

Martinez will be placed on probation for three years after his release, during which he must wear a GPS monitor, stay away from his victim, register as a sex offender, complete treatment and counseling, and seek approval for any employment with his probationary officer.

The Boston College Eagles defeated BU 6-2 tonight, earning a decisive win in the first men’s Battle of Comm Ave this season.

The Eagles went on the penalty kill early in the game, but came out of it ahead after Will Vote scored a shorthanded goal.

BU took the BC lead away later in the period, scoring twice on a BC major penalty to make it 2-1 Terriers, but the scoring was all BC from the second period onwards.

Teddy Stiga scored to tie things up early in the second, and the Ryan Leonard put BC into the lead. Brady Berard, who has really been finding his stride recently, closed out the second period scoring for the Eags to give them a 4-2 lead heading into the third.

The 4-2 lead held through the third period, thanks in no small part to some strong goaltending from Jacob Fowler. BU pulled the goalie with a few minutes to go in the game, and Leonard scored twice on the empty net to earn a hat trick and get BC the 6-2 win.

BOSTON – Boston City Hall, known for its brutalist architecture, is now an official historical landmark despite once being named the fourth-ugliest building in the world.

Boston City Hall made historic landmark

Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Landmarks Commission announced the decision in a press release on Friday. They said the structure has civic and cultural significance. 

“This milestone serves as an affirmation of our commitment to preserving this space as a vital symbol of our democracy and a center for civic engagement. Our administration is proud to help the building evolve into a space that is accessible to the community while maintaining its historic character,” Wu said in a statement.

“Boston City Hall is more than a building—it’s a catalyst for civic engagement and a home for those who serve our great city,” City Councilor Sharon Durkan said in a statement. 

The building completed a conservation management plan in 2021, which allowed it to address needed updates while preserving its historic architecture.

“City Hall was constructed with architectural barriers that would not be present if it were built today, so accessibility upgrades will remain a key priority moving forward,” said Disability Commissioner Kristen McCosh.  

“Only through growth and thoughtful adaptation can the ‘People’s Building’ be fully accessible and inclusive for all, now and into the future,” Eamon Shelton, Commissioner of Property Management.

Boston City Hall, designed by Kallmann, McKinnell, and Knowles, was completed in 1968 and is renowned as an example of Brutalist architecture. It is a striking contrast to other Boston neighborhoods, such as Beacon Hill and Back Bay, which are home to Boston’s iconic brownstones and brick buildings.   

Boston City Hall controversies

Boston City Hall has not been without public scrutiny in recent years. In 2023, it was voted the fourth ugliest building in the world by Buildworld.co, It was also voted the second ugliest building in the United States, falling second to the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C.  

Criticism of the building makes rounds on social media sites like X and Reddit every year with people criticizing the style and imposing nature of the building. 

City Hall Plaza was recently renovated in 2022 to include more greenery and become an inviting area for celebrations. In 2023, a video taken at the playground at City Hall Plaza went viral after a cop was seen going down a children’s slide at a high speed.