NORTHAMPTON — A Ware man will spend the next 20 to 25 years in state prison followed by 10 years of probation after he was convicted of 28 child sex abuse charges related to his continued rape of a child.
The courtroom fell silent Wednesday afternoon as Hampshire Superior Court Judge Charles Groce III addressed Angel Ramos before delivering his sentence, remarking on the man’s actions and noting that he had “planted a seed” of lifelong consequences in a child that was known to him and trusted him.
“There is a privilege in the position that you held in this young girl’s life … The sad and overwhelmingly traumatic truth is that you took this position and you used it to serve a particularly perverse interest,” Groce said. “There are many things about this young lady that her mother can be proud of. She showed a tremendous amount of courage, which the court recognizes, in being able to come forward and to tell the world what had happened to her.”
Following a four-day bench trial, Ramos, 53, was found guilty on Aug. 4 of 13 counts of aggravated rape of a child; three counts of forcible rape of a child; six counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14; two counts of aggravated intimidation of a witness; and one count each of posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity; trafficking a person under 18 for sexual servitude; open and gross lewdness; and assault with intent to rape.
When she was 13 years old, the victim — a day after Ramos had raped her — told her mother that Ramos had repeatedly and regularly sexually abused her for the past six years. The victim later testified that Ramos first raped her during a game of cops and robbers when she was only 7 years old.
“After I told my mom about getting raped … I had to go into therapy, but therapy wasn’t helping me,” the victim wrote in her impact statement, which Assistant District Attorney Jillian Parent read to the court. “I was suicidal — I thought about killing myself every day. I used to be terrified of grown men; I got scared every time I was even close to a grown man. I went to a partial mental hospital for about two months, and that didn’t help either.”
In her statement, the victim said she was glad the court believed her and hoped Ramos would never harm anyone else.
Parent and Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Jimenez, the case’s prosecutors, urged Groce to sentence Ramos to 30 to 35 years, followed by 10 years of probation, given the brutality of his offenses.
Attorney Bob Opsitnick, who defended Ramos, requested the minimum sentence on all charges and explained that Ramos maintains that he is “innocent.”
“You have an innocent man — as far as he’s concerned — in jail for a long, long time for something that he did not do,” Opsitnick said.
As conditions of probation, Ramos must complete a sex offender evaluation and any recommended treatment; have no unsupervised contact with children under 18; not reside with or have overnight visits with minors; have no contact with the victim; comply with all Sex Offender Registry Board requirements; and wear a GPS monitoring device.
