An El Paso County Sheriff’s Office employee has resigned after he and his wife were arrested for allegedly confining their adopted 15-year-old son to his room and forcing him to use it as a restroom since he was 5 years old, authorities said.
El Paso police officers arrested Richard Ramirez, 51, and Nora Ramirez, 52, on Friday, June 13, on one count each of unlawful restraint, El Paso Police Department spokesperson Det. Judy Oviedo wrote in a news release.
No attorneys are listed for the couple in court records.
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Priscilla Contreras confirmed Richard Ramirez was an employee with the sheriff’s office at the time of his arrest. He was “immediately placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs investigation,” she said.
No details were released on what position Richard Ramirez held with the sheriff’s office.
Richard Ramirez “submitted documentation to separate from the Sheriff’s Office” on Monday, June 16, and it immediately went into effect, Contreras said.
“We have been cooperating fully with the El Paso Police Department regarding their investigation,” Contreras said in an email. “As this is an ongoing matter, no further comment will be provided at this time.”
Boy allegedly ‘routinely locked” in room since he was 5
Officers conducted a welfare check on the boy on Wednesday, June 11, at a home in the 12200 block of Tierra Mar Way near Joe Battle Boulevard in Far East El Paso. The welfare check was conducted over allegations that the boy was “being neglected and confined by his adoptive parents,” the news release states.
The boy told officers he was “routinely locked in his bedroom for extended periods and was forced to use the restroom within his room,” the news release states. The boy was allegedly let out of his room for dinner and was immediately returned to his room afterward.
“This pattern of treatment had been ongoing since he was approximately 5 years old,” the news release states.
El Paso Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit took over the investigation “due to the serious nature of the allegations,” the news release states. No further information was released on the case as police continue to investigate the allegations.
Richard and Nora Ramirez were arrested Friday, June 13, on one count each of unlawful restraint of a child under 17 years old. They were each booked into the El Paso County Jail on $100,000 bonds, jail records show. They were released the next day after posting bail, jail logs show.
No information was released on who currently has custody of the boy.
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on X/Twitter @AMartinezEPT.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso sheriff’s employee resigns, arrested for allegedly locking son in room since age 5
Reporting by Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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