Immigrant jailed in sex case

by: LEIGH BELL World Staff Writer
7/20/2007


A man in the country illegally is accused of molesting a 16-year-old boy at a swimming pool.


An illegal Mexican immigrant was in jail Thursday after being arrested the day before on a complaint of sexual battery against a 16-year-old boy at a community swimming pool, according to the Tulsa Police Department.

It's the second time the same man has been in jail on sex complaints, but he somehow avoided being turned over to immigration officials the first time.

Daniel P. Ramirez, 39, has a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which means this time he could face deportation after the criminal complaint is resolved.

Federal immigration officials confirmed Thursday that Ramirez is in the country illegally.

Ramirez touched the victim's "buttocks and chest without consent," and the man "was touching his genitals through clothes while talking to victim," according to the police department's arrest report.

The victim did not appear to know Ramirez, a police spokesman said Thursday.

The arrest report shows Ramirez lives in Broken Arrow and works for a Tulsa contractor.

Ramirez was arrested Wednesday afternoon in the area of 7200 S. Atlanta Ave., where he was working on a nearby house, according to police records.

He was booked into jail at 5:20 p.m. on a single sexual battery complaint and out standing court costs related to a previous encounter with the law, according to jail records.

Ramirez was charged less than two years ago with first-degree burglary and sexual battery against an adult female in Broken Arrow, said Maj. Mark Irwin of the Broken Arrow Police Department.

But court records show Ramirez was only convicted for trespassing, a misdemeanor.

Records at the time of the 2005 arrest do not indicate an effort was made to determine the immigration status of Ramirez, Irwin said.

Immigration officials said Thursday there was "no record of a 2005 conviction of this alien."

Immigration checks were not done in the Tulsa County Jail, as they are now, when Ramirez was booked there in August 2005, said Chief Deputy Tim Albin of the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office took over jail operations July 1, 2005, and did not begin its current practice of checking immigration status until several months later, Albin said.

Ramirez was being held on a $2,717.40 bond.

"He won't go anywhere until his charges are either resolved or he bonds out and is turned over to ICE (immigration officials)," Albin said.

Illegal immigrants convicted of aggravated felonies are subject to immediate deportation after any related prison sentence is served.

Ramirez approached the 16-year-old victim and made inappropriate statements, according to a police report.

Later, the teenager saw Ramirez near a community pool talking with several young boys, the report says.

"The teenager went over to the suspect, at which time the suspect made inappropriate contact with the victim," according to the report.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article. ... hAman20470