East Palo Alto Rapist Sentenced

An East Palo Alto man convicted of kidnapping and raping his ex-girlfriend in July 2010 has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

Jose Estrada Ramirez, 29, was handed down the sentence in San Mateo County Superior Court Monday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti said.

On Dec. 29, a jury convicted Ramirez of two counts of rape by force and one count of kidnapping in connection with the 26-hour abduction, which began in Redwood City on July 5, 2010.

On the day of the crime, a woman saw Ramirez grab his ex-girlfriend -- who was referred to throughout the trial as Maria Doe -- and force her into a truck outside a party she was attending with her children.

The woman called her brothers, who flagged down police to report the crime, Deputy District Attorney Shin-Mee Chang said.

The victim was driven to a wooded area in Pleasanton, where Ramirez pulled her from the truck and raped her, Chang said. She was then driven into Yolo County, where she was raped a second time inside Ramirez' truck.

The two were picked up by police at about 4 p.m. the following day, after the defendant's truck ran out of gas.

The victim immediately told the officers she had been raped, and an investigating nurse testified that the bruises the victim had on her arms were consistent with being held down. She also had cuts and abrasions on her arms and legs, and grass stuck in her hair.

The defense had argued that the sex between Ramirez and the victim was consensual, and that she had plotted to frame him because she was jealous of his new girlfriend.

--Bay City News

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