Emotions remained high at the Lamb County 154th District Court as Lorenzo Ramirez, 39, received a life sentence for the continuous sexual abuse of his then-5-yearold family member in 2013.
The victim and their mother embraced as Lamb County District Attorney Rickie Redman read the mother’s victim impact statement to Ramirez, ruminating on his fate.
“You do not deserve to see the light of day,” Redman read in the statement. “I will burn for all eternity for (them) to see peace.”
Ramirez maintained his innocence for the acts of sexual abuse involving the now 17-year-old family member that occurred between 2013 and 2014.
The Texas Penal Code defines the continuous sexual abuse of a child as occurring during a period that is 30 or more days and involves two or more acts of sexual abuse. The offense is a first-degree felony, carrying a punishment of 25 years to life in prison.
The initial discovery of the acts unfolded years later in 2019. The mother testified and detailed the events in court.
On Sept. 11, 2019, the mother said she received a Snapchat photo from her child, who originally intended to send the message to a friend. The photo prompted the mother to confront and question the child and look through their phone.
Through this, the mother said she discovered a message her child sent to a friend stating that Ramirez touched them. The extent and details of the situation were not shared, the mother said.
After naming every male family member, the mother said her child froze when she stated Ramirez’s name. When the mother asked where he touched them, they pointed to their chest and genitals.
The mother then contacted Lorenzo Ramirez’s brother, Alfonso Ramirez. Alfonso arrived at the mother’s residence thereafter.
In her testimony, the mother said the child and Alfonso spoke for “what felt like hours” in the apartment parking lot. However, the child testified that they did not recall what they spoke about. Alfonso testified that the two met him at the library and that he did not speak with the mother’s child at all.
After this, the mother said Alfonso and her child left to speak with Beatrice Ramirez, Lorenzo and Alfonso’s mother. The child testified that they apologized to Beatrice after revealing the allegations. Contrastingly, Alfonso testified that the two remained silent during the visit.
“I don’t remember anything being said,” Alfonso Ramirez testified. “I just remember an awkward silence.”
After their visit with Beatrice, Alfonso, the mother and her child visited the Littlefield County Police Department. The mother said she made a preliminary report, and her child revealed instances of abuse that occurred after they showered and while they changed into a swimsuit.
Following standard procedure, the report prompted now-Chief Sammuel Garcia to refer the mother to schedule further examinations for the child, including a forensics interview and an exam with the Texas Tech University Health Science Center’s C.A.R.E. – Center for Advocacy, Research and Education.
On Sept. 18, 2019, the mother and child visited with Forensic In- terviewer Mary Rose Garcia of the Children’s Advocacy Center of the South Plains, in Littlefield, at the Family Resource Center. Garcia testified that the child remained nervous, tearful, quiet and reserved throughout the interview.
During their conversation, the child identified Lorenzo as the perpetrator and described three incidents.
In the first incident the child described, they stated that Lorenzo entered the room whilst they changed into a swimsuit and touched their chest and genitals with his hand. Furthermore, the child said he placed them on the floor and penetrated them, describing the incident with words like “he forced,” “pushed and pulled,” and admitted it hurt.
The second incident the child described occurred after they finished showering. Lorenzo led the child to his room and penetrated them on the bed. After this, he let them go and locked the door behind him. The child stated that they attempted to tell their sibling, who remained in the living room at the time, but was unable to express what happened.
Lastly, the child recounted the first instance of abuse they remembered. This occurred when other family members living in the home left to buy snow cones. The child stated that they “ had to turn around and take off my shirt and pants,” and “it was the first time and it hurt.” The child tried telling a cousin what happened, but said they did not understand.
Garcia said the child admitted there were other instances of abuse, but they could not recall those moments.
When Garcia asked the child what stood out the most during the abuse, they responded, “Why did he do that to me?”
On Sept. 24, 2019, the mother and child visited RN SANE Patricia Salazar at C.A.R.E. Salazar testified that the child’s demeanor remained quiet, reserved and withdrawn. As Salazar asked the child more questions throughout the exam, she said the child grew more emotional.
“‘It is very hard to talk about,’” Salazar recounted the child saying.
Child victims of sexual abuse receive medical exams from the center in a non-invasive and childled manner, Salazar said. The physical examination differs widely from an assault examination performed on adult sexual assault victims, notably avoiding any penetrative measures by using a camera to make observations from outside of the genitalia.
The findings of the child’s examination revealed evidence of trauma. An almost complete transection of the hymen pointed to definitive proof of penetration of a pre-pubescent hymen, Salazar testified.
Distinctively, a pre-pubescent hymen is delicate, and immediate pain is felt when slightly touched or penetrated; whereas, a pubescent hymen is more flexible due to the production of estrogen, Salazar said.
Furthermore, Salazar testified that the type of injury seen in the child is uncommon.
Lorenzo’s lawyer, Vince Martinez, questioned the timeline of the scarring, arguing how the findings may have been affected as the child grew up.
Although Salazar stated that abrasions typically heal within weeks, she denounced the notion of trauma not occurring.
“It does not mean no trauma happened,” Salazar testified. “Based on the allegation, the evidence could point to trauma.”
Amidst the preliminary reporting, the mother said Lorenzo contacted her, stating that she should have talked to him prior.
“I was not upset, I just wanted to know what was going on,” Lorenzo Ramirez testified. “I wasn’t upset that she was at the police department… she’s a mom, that’s her job.”
At that time, the mother worked alongside Lorenzo. Lorenzo said he recalled attempting to talk to the mother at work about the allegation and receiving messages from her stating, “not to worry,” and that he “has nothing to worry about… she trusts him more than (the child’s) dad.”
On Oct. 9, then-criminal-investigations detective Sammuel Garcia – now Littlefield Chief of Police – visited Lorenzo’s residence. Chief Garcia said Lorenzo willingly scheduled the suspect interview.
During the interview on Oct. 11, Chief Garcia said Lorenzo denied all of the allegations, but occasionally backtracked on his statements.
“I probably have,” Lorenzo said in the interview, in reference to watching the victim change, “but, (they’re) a little kid, I had to tell (them) what to do.”
Moreover, Lorenzo described the child as “slow and gullible” and said he heard the family say the child had been “acting like a little whore.”
At the time of the interview, the child was 11 years old.
“(They) had all this time, why didn’t ( they) say it before,” Lorenzo questioned in the interview.
Down the line in the investigation, the child began visiting licensed professional counselor Dr. Peggy Skinner.
The child did not disclose details about the abuse until three months into the sessions, approximately around December, Dr. Skinner testified.
“Children do not openly discuss sexuality,” Dr. Skinner said. “The message (children) pick up is that they think they’re in trouble… they think it’s their fault. Every child is different.”
Dr. Skinner described the child as quiet, reserved and hesitant during their sessions.
Additionally, Dr. Skinner said the child reported symptoms including trouble sleeping, nightmares and trouble focusing in school.
As the child testified on the stand, they fiddled with their shirt between their fingers.
Redman softly asked why the child decided to appear in court.
“So I don’t have to talk about it ever again,” the child said.
The child’s testimony revealed more instances of abuse. In one instance, the child testified that Lorenzo forced them to perform oral sex before returning to the rest of the family. Another time, he made the other sibling present in the home take out the trash as he forced the child to lie on top of him on the couch and perform oral sex on him, as he did the same to them.
“I tried to say something, but I couldn’t,” the child testified. “I felt helpless.”
Recounting previous incidents described by Mary Rose Garcia, the child described the shower and swimsuit incidents, notably mentioning how painful the penetration felt. “It’s very hard for my mental health and hard to be comfortable with my body,” the child said.
During the child’s cross-examination, Martinez became emotional.
“I’m a Dad,” Martinez winced. “I’m not trying to trick you.”
The next day, Lorenzo filed a motion for a mistrial, citing Martinez’s loss of composure. Senior District Judge Felix Klein dismissed this motion.
“Some of the jurors have cried… I got emotional,” Redman argued. “ Anyone who is a rational, heartbeating human would understand.”
Emotions in the court remained firmly high, just as firm as Beatrice and Lorenzo’s maintained belief in his innocence.
“I was the fun uncle, I always wanted to do something with them,” Lorenzo testified.
On the last day of trial, Lorenzo wore a graphic shirt with the slogan reading, “God is good all the time,” as he awaited the verdict and sentencing.
“Remember why we’re here,” Redman initiated in her closing argument, presenting a photo of the child at the time of the abuse. “You don’t have to guess or wonder, you just have to believe (them).”
Conversely, Martinez cited Lorenzo’s right to a fair trial.
“Do not let bias, sympathy interfere with the ruling,” Martinez said, addressing the jury. “The law says do not let that give you blindness to the story.”
The jury deliberated for about an hour before returning the guilty verdict. After sentencing Lorenzo to life in prison, a few members of the jury hugged the child. “I’m proud of you,” one juror said.
“The verdict will tell people what will happen if you do this here,” Redman said, “there is no rehabilitation for people like him; he deserves to be in prison for the rest of his life.”