Galion man sentenced for sexual battery


Jun. 3, 2011
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Written by Kimberly Gasuras

BUCYRUS -- A man who is in the country illegally was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual battery.

Eduardo Ramirez-Lopez, 25, 6764 Hillgrove Road, pleaded guilty in Crawford County Common Pleas Court to one count of sexual battery, a third-degree felony, in an agreement with prosecutors. He originally was charged with rape, a first-degree felony.

Ramirez-Lopez was arrested in March after two women made allegations against him and his friend, Marcos Salinas-Zurita, 26. Salinas-Zurita was sentenced to 60 days in jail on one misdemeanor charge of soliciting and ordered to pay a $603 fine by Judge Sean Leuthold in Crawford County Municipal Court in April.

Crawford County Assistant Prosecutor Cliff Murphy said it was determined there was one victim, and that she was lured to the home of the two men under the premise she was going to clean their house for money.

Authorities said Ramirez-Lopez, through Spanish interpreter Roland Flores, admitted to sexual battery. Ramirez-Lopez will get credit for time served and could be eligible for judicial release after serving two years.

Judge Russell Wiseman told Ramirez-Lopez that if he is released from prison and avoids deportation, he will have to register as a Tier III sexual offender every 90 days in person at the sheriff's office of the county in which he resides. He also will be placed on five years probation because of the violent nature of the offense.

Wiseman ordered Ramirez-Lopez to pay a $250 fine and court costs.

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