Palmetto State News

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Ruben Ramirez, a state prison inmate, will face an additional decade in prison after admitting to using a contraband cell phone to commit further sex crimes against a minor. Ramirez pleaded guilty in Jasper County on February 14th to charges of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, 3rd Degree, and Dissemination of Obscene Material to a Person Under Age 18.

In October 2021, investigators from the South Carolina Department of Corrections discovered that Ramirez had been communicating with a 14-year-old girl using the illicit phone. During these exchanges, Ramirez received nude images from the minor and sent explicit images of himself in return. At the time, Ramirez was already serving a 20-year sentence for various offenses committed in 2008, including Kidnapping and Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor.

Judge Robert Bonds imposed an additional 10-year sentence on Ramirez without credit for time served since his arrest. Upon release, Ramirez will be required to register as a Tier III sex offender. The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Kyle Senn.