Ware man sentenced to 20-25 years for 28 child sex abuse charges
The victim, who reported the abuse at age 13, testified that the assaults began when she was 7 years old.
NORTHAMPTON — A Ware man will spend 20 to 25 years in state prison followed by 10 years of probation after his conviction on 28 child sex abuse charges related to the sexual abuse of a child he knew and in whom the victim placed trust.
Angel Ramos, 53, was sentenced Wednesday by Hampshire Superior Court Judge Charles Groce III following a four-day bench trial in August. The charges included 13 counts of aggravated rape of a child, three counts of forcible rape of a child, and six counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, along with convictions on several other charges. Prosecutors had urged the judge to impose a sentence of 30 to 35 years.
When the victim was 13 years old, she told her mother that Ramos had repeatedly and regularly sexually abused her for the previous six years. The victim later testified that Ramos first assaulted her during a game of cops and robbers when she was only 7 years old.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the survivor described the lasting harm from the abuse. "After I told my mom about getting raped, I had to go into therapy, but therapy wasn't helping me," she wrote. "I was suicidal — I thought about killing myself every day." She said she had spent time in a partial mental hospital and expressed gratitude that the court believed her account.
During sentencing, Judge Groce addressed the gravity of Ramos's actions. "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," he said. He also noted the victim's courage in coming forward.
Ramos's attorney, Bob Opsitnick, had requested the minimum sentence on all charges and stated that his client maintains his innocence.
As conditions of his 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 Sex Offender Registry Board requirements, and wear a GPS monitoring device.