A 45-year-old Bronx man, Jorge Alberto Ramos, was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 6, to over 8 years in prison for smuggling three female victims from El Salvador to the U.S., where he sexually abused them, federal prosecutors said. The man’s sentence was also for possessing child pornography. Danielle R. Sassoon, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl, who also presided over the defendant’s guilty plea.

 

Reacting to the sentencing, Sassoon said, “Today, Jorge Alberto Ramos was held to account for his horrific exploitation of women he smuggled into the United States and sexually abused over the course of a decade. We thank and commend the courageous women who came forward to law enforcement. Ramos’s sentencing is a reminder that the Southern District of New York will work tirelessly to protect vulnerable victims from abuse.”

 

According to court records, from at least in or about 2013 and in or about 2023, Ramos smuggled three victims from El Salvador to the Bronx, where he raped, sexually assaulted, and sexually abused them. He groomed at least three women (“Victim-1,” “Victim-2,” and “Victim-3,” and together, the “victims”) by, among other things, expressing concern for them and their families and by sending them gifts and money, [a tactic typical of those involved in the initial grooming stages of sex trafficking].

 

Prosecutors said Ramos then arranged for each of the victims to be smuggled from El Salvador into the U.S., paying fees for smugglers (or “coyotes”) to transport the victims across the southern U.S. border. They said over the course of a decade, each of the victims was smuggled into the U.S. and transported to New York, where Ramos then brought each of the victims, respectively and at different times, to his home in The Bronx (the “Ramos Residence”).

 

Prosecutors said once at the Ramos Residence, Ramos raped and sexually assaulted the victims. The court heard that in or about 2016, he raped and sexually assaulted Victim-1 on the first day he brought Victim-1 to the Ramos Residence and then continued to do so for several weeks until Victim-1 fled from him. In or about 2017, Ramos raped and sexually assaulted Victim-2 on the first day he brought Victim-2 to the Ramos Residence and continued to do so for around one month until Victim-2 fled from him.

 

The court heard that between in or about 2013 and in or about 2014, Ramos raped and sexually assaulted Victim-3 on at least three occasions after bringing Victim-3 to the Ramos Residence. Prosecutors said that while the victims stayed at the Ramos Residence, Ramos attempted to control them by, among other things, ordering them to stay inside his home, attempting to isolate them from other people, and threatening to report them to immigration officials for deportation back to El Salvador.

 

They said after Ramos was arrested, law enforcement agents seized a desktop computer from his home that was powered on at the time of the search, and a forensic analysis of the computer led to the discovery of multiple photographs and videos containing known child pornography.

 

The court heard that in addition to the prison term, Ramos was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. Meanwhile, Sassoon praised what she described as the outstanding investigative work of U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the NYPD.

 

The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorneys for the Southern District of New York’s Civil Rights Unit in the criminal division and the Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth A. Espinosa, Emily A. Johnson, and Jane Kim are leading the prosecution.

 

January marks Human Trafficking Awareness Month.  If you are, or know, a victim of human trafficking, trained professional help is available from the Bronx District Attorney’s Human Trafficking Unit. They can be reached at (718) 838-7185.

 

Call NYC’s 24-hour Crime Victims Hotline (1-866-689-HELP or 4357), or the National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888 / TTY 711 or text 233733) for confidential services and supports to get help and stay safe. Visit the NYC HOPE Resource Directory for resources at https://on.nyc.gov/2Ts01xg.

 

Attorney General Letitia James urges anyone who may be a victim of trafficking or who knows someone who may be a victim to call the NYPD’s Trafficking Hotline at 646-610-7272.

 

As previously reported, the nonprofit, Freedom Youth Family Justice Center, have long been working to help survivors of human trafficking in The Bronx. Email Moniqueriley@freedomyouthfamilyjusticecenter.org or call (929) 612-3667 for more information.

To read some of our previous coverage of this issue, click here, here, here and here.