OAKLAND — A Martinez resident has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for possessing images of child sexual abuse and coercion of teen girls, one of whom overdosed from fentanyl she allegedly got from the defendant, court records show.
Javier Ramirez, who goes by the nickname “Lucky,” was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar. Back in November, Ramirez pleaded guilty to child coercion or enticement, and child pornography possession. Prosecutors say there was evidence the 29-year-old Ramirez sexually abused three girls, including a Lafayette teen who overdosed in the bathroom of her high school but survived the ordeal.
A sentencing memo filed by federal prosecutors, which references Ramirez by their preferred they/them pronouns, describes Ramirez as an “incessant sexual predator” who would sweet-talk teen girls, convince them they wanted to be in a relationship, and then simply abandon them when they “aged out” by turning 18.
In addition to possessing around 100 videos depicting rape or abuse of young children and toddlers, Ramirez also filmed girls without their consent and posted at least one sexual image of a teen onto their public Instagram, prosecutors said.
“When another victim tried to break away, Ramirez threatened her mother that Ramirez would impregnate the victim against her will if she tried to leave,” the prosecution memo says. “The threat was real given that Ramirez physically abused the victims on more than one occasion and already had a young daughter whose mother was a teenager herself.”
Prosecutors asked for a 27-year prison term, while the defense asked for roughly half of that.
Ramirez’s attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender John Paul Reichmuth, describes Ramirez’s “hellish” childhood that included physical abuse. Ramirez’s teen mother was schizophrenic and went by “El Loco,” while their father was a gang member who soon after Ramirez’s birth, “threw Mr. Ramirez across the room, thinking the baby was possessed,” Reichmuth wrote, adding that Ramirez is “immature” and more akin to a teenager because of the abuse, drug addiction, and mental illness.
“There is general agreement…that Mr. Ramirez does not think or act like a person in their twenties,” Reichmuth wrote, later adding, “(Their crimes) are very severe. And Mr. Ramirez has taken responsibility for (their crimes) as much as their teenage brain can.”
Prosecutors countered that Ramirez — who was previously convicted of sexual abuse involving a 13-year-old girl — will continue to abuse kids if not imprisoned, and that one of the victims accused Ramirez of physical abuse.
“Ramirez’s heinous conduct deserves a forceful sanction from this Court to protect future girls from harm…to protect the community from Ramirez’s violence, and to provide adequate deterrence given the devastation Ramirez has already caused to so many,” prosecutors wrote. “The identified victims will suffer lifelong trauma that will not end with this case.”