Salinas man sentenced for multiple rapes, some involving minors
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Salinas resident Ignacio Ramirez has been sentenced to 238 years and 8 months to life in prison for sexually assaulting a woman and two girls, according to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.
Ramirez was found guilty of 20 felony counts by a jury on June 23. The charges included sexual intercourse with a minor 10 years of age or younger, forcible rape of a minor under 14 years of age, forcible lewd acts upon a minor under 14 years of age, forcible rape, first-degree burglary, sexual battery by restraint and lewd acts upon a minor under the age of 14. Of the 20 charges, 19 are considered violent felonies and considered "strikes" under California's Three Strikes Law.
The investigation started in Dec. 2018 when a girl under the age of 14 (Victim 1) told her school nurse that she was worried that she might be pregnant because Ramirez, a family member she used to live with, had raped her. She said Ramirez sexually abused her more than 10 times beginning when she was 9 years old. She said she tried to push him off every time, but he was stronger than her and told her not to tell anyone about the abuse. The DA's Office said Ramirez had hit Victim 1, her sister (Victim 2) and her mother (Victim 3) previously, so she did not say anything because she was afraid of him.
When a detective with the Monterey County Sheriff's Office contacted Victim 3, she said Ramirez forcibly raped her several times over the course of multiple years. During one incident, she said Ramirez raped her after she had a C-section and was still bleeding and in pain. She said he also broke into her home several times to rape her.
During the investigation, the detective learned that there may be another victim, so she contacted another of Ramirez's family members who is an adult now (Victim 4). She told investigators that Ramirez sexually assaulted her once when she was around the age of 10.
In addition to a prison sentence, Ramirez will be required to register as a sex offender for life.
