Just last month, Alberto Flores Ramirez was charged with raping a woman in a Santa Ana motel room under the guise of performing a “spiritual cleansing,” and now another woman has come forward with charges of sexual assault saying the 36-year-old California man lured her in the exact same way.
In the first case, it’s alleged that Ramirez met the victim on an online dating site and lured her to the Aloha Motel by telling her he could help bring her children to California from Mexico. According to the Orange County district attorney’s office, he told the victim he would perform “a spiritual cleansing on her to get rid of her negative vibes.” When she arrived at the location, he rubbed raw eggs on the victim’s body, fondled her, and then sexually assaulted her.
After seeing the report on a Spanish-language television station, a second victim came forward and said she was also lured to the same Santa Ana motel in promise of a “spiritual cleansing.” Ramirez reportedly poured ammonia on the second victim’s head while she was lying on the bed, causing her to become dizzy and disoriented, then he raped her. You would think this type of scam would only work on devoutly spiritual women, but interestingly, neither woman seems to be deeply spiritual or religious.
“It’s really strange and it’s really unfortunate because he seems like he’s preying on women that have had bad luck with men in the past or emotional issues in their lives,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Whitney Bokosky said. “They think he’s going to help them.”
Ramirez is the one who’s in need of help now. He is facing two felony counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation, along with one count each of attempted forcible oral copulation and penetration by a foreign object by force. He now also faces a sentencing enhancement for sex crimes against multiple victims. If convicted, he could receive a maximum sentence of 75 years to life. Now that news of a second victim has come to light, authorities said they will ask that his bail be increased $100,000 to $1 million when he is arraigned Friday. It wouldn’t be surprising if even more victims came forward by then. He might as well kiss his days of “spiritual cleansing” goodbye.
Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.
