EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Court documents obtained by KTSM show the type of living conditions a 15-year-old boy was facing after his adoptive parents were arrested and charged with unlawful restraint, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.
Richard Ramirez, 51, and Nora Ramirez, 52, were both arrested on Wednesday, June 11, and charged with unlawful restraint of their 15-year-old adoptive son.
Court documents say on that Wednesday, the El Paso Police Department received a call from a witness, stating the 15-year-old boy was not eating and was being locked up in his room by his adoptive parents.
Officers responded to the home located at the 12200 block of Tierra Mar Way and met with the victim and Nora Ramirez.
Court documents say the victim became nervous and did not want to disclose anything to the officers about what he had told the witness in front of Nora Ramirez.
Officers asked Ramirez about the victim being locked inside his room, to which she admitted to locking the victim in the room from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. She also told police that the victim has been home-schooled since he was 5 years old.
The adoptive mother also told police that she removed all of the furniture from the victim’s room due to the victim urinating on the floor and the bed, according to court documents.
Later on, the victim told police that he had been getting locked inside his room since he was a child and is unable to open the door from the inside because the doorknob is flipped, with the locking mechanism being located on the outside, court documents said.
The officers asked the victim if he had done anything to get in trouble, to which the victim said that he used his adoptive mother’s money to buy a phone and contact the witness, who later reported the situation to police.
The victim told police that he was in trouble for getting the phone, so he had not showered since Sunday, June 8, and had not had any water or anything to drink for the past couple of days, court documents said.
The victim also told police that his parents told him, “What happens in the house, stays in the house,” according to court documents.
The victim also told police that he doesn’t eat breakfast, and in the afternoon, he’ll be let out of his room and will then eat lunch.
The victim will then do homeschooling for a couple of hours, and if he does not have chores, he’ll be locked back in his room until dinner time, according to court documents.
The victim told police he would go to sleep until dinner time since he has no TV, phone, computer, or radio.
The victim will then be let out of his room at around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. for dinner, and after dinner, he’ll get locked up in his room again until the next day.
The victim said that if he needs to pee at night, he needs to do it outside the window, in the room, or in empty water bottles because he can’t leave his room. He told police that he’s had to defecate inside a bag and inside his pants as he cannot leave his room, according to court documents.
Three other individuals who used to stay in the house later told police that the same thing would happen to them when they used to live with Richard and Nora Ramirez when they were younger, according to court documents.
The three individuals left the house last year, and the situation has gotten worse for the 15-year-old victim, according to court documents.
The victim also told police that even if he behaves, he still gets locked up in his room. He said if he does not behave, he will also be physically abused, according to court documents.
The victim told police that his room will be searched regularly and he is not allowed to shower during the week. Officers observed that the victim had a strong smell of urine, and the victim was later provided with clothes due to his clothes being soiled, according to court documents.
Officers met with Nora Ramirez and asked if they could see the victim’s room. The mother showed officers to the room to which officers saw the door knob flipped inside out and had the locking mechanism on the outside.
Officers saw that the victim’s room was empty and only had a bed and an empty desk. The officers also saw that the room had several urine stains and had a strong odor of urine, according to court documents.
Richard and Nora Ramirez were both booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility that Wednesday, both under a $100,000 bond. The couple posted bond the following day.
Read: Read More