SAN JACINTO COUNTY, TX- On Thursday, in the 411th District Court of San Jacinto County, the Honorable John Wells presiding, defendant Julius Ramon, 38 entered a plea of guilty to the First-Degree Felony Online Solicitation of a Minor, in exchange for a sentence of 25 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division.
This plea arose from the defendant befriending an 11-year-old boy in the Holiday Villages neighborhood in Point Blank, and subsequently sending him lewd pictures of his genitals and engaging in sexual conversations with him. When the victim’s mother became suspicious of her son’s behavior, she checked his phone and discovered the numerous photos that the defendant had sent. She immediately notified the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Department, who began their investigation, in which they discovered more child pornography on the defendant’s phone, as well as text messages to the victim from the defendant, expressing a desire to engage in sexual acts with him.
The defendant was soon arrested, and case detectives Martin Montalvo and Omar Sheikh subsequently interviewed the defendant and obtained a full confession. The defendant entered this plea Thursday, despite this being only his second court appearance. The defendant had three previous trips to federal prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Alien smuggling in 2012, 2014, and 2016. The defendant also had multiple arrests between 2007 and 2014 in Zavala County, most of which were dismissed.
District Attorney Todd Dillon and Assistant District Attorney Rob Freyer prosecuted the case for the State, and are relieved to achieve such a result without having to force the victim to testify in court, and thus relive the nightmarish experiences he had endured.
Dillon also noted that “this case is yet another example of how this Office, the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Department, and the citizens of this county simply will not tolerate the disgusting behavior and conduct exhibited by this defendant against the most vulnerable subsection of our community- our children.
“We will not put up with the acts we proved were committed by this defendant,” Dillon said. “Any such conduct, if proven, will be dealt with us in the harshest manner the law will allow.”
Dillon and Freyer also commend the hard and thorough efforts by Detective Montalvo and Detective Sheikh, who ensured that this defendant will be locked up and away from this and every other community for an extremely long time. It allows for closure to the family of this young boy who had the misfortune at one time of actually trusting this defendant. Dillon noted “This defendant deserves every day he will serve, and he will not be eligible for parole until 2037”.
Dillon and Freyer also assure everyone in the community that they will include in the defendant’s paperwork to TDC a letter formally protesting the early release of this defendant, or any other defendant that is foolish enough to come into their community and prey on innocent and defenseless children.
