Trial Begins for Costa Mesa Man Charged with Raping Teen and Friend

A 42-year-old man raped a friend in her Anaheim home and months later lured a 16-year-old girl who worked for him at a dry cleaning business to his Costa Mesa home, where he raped her too, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.

Jaime Zamora Ramirez's attorney insisted, however, that the man had consensual sex with his friend. The attorney accused the other alleged victim of lying. Ramirez, who is charged with two counts of rape, also faces a sentencing enhancement for a prior strike conviction for vehicular manslaughter in 1992, according to Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker.

"At the end of this trial you will hear how this defendant took what he wanted when he wanted,'' Walker told jurors during her opening statement, adding Ramirez used his relationships as a boss and a friend to get his way.

Ramirez was manager of First Class Cleaners in Fountain Valley. Walker said Ramirez went drinking and dancing with friends -- including the first alleged victim -- at Leonardo's in Fullerton, then went to the friends' Anaheim apartment complex early on Oct. 12, 2008. Ramirez said he wanted to sleep on the alleged victim's couch, which wasn't uncommon, but at some point he forced her to have sex with him, Walker said.

The woman, who was estranged from her husband, "begged and pleaded'' with the defendant to stop, Walker said. "He said, 'You've gone a year without this, you wanted it,''' Walker said.

The woman reported the rape nine days later when police were at her apartment complex on an unrelated matter, Walker said. Ramirez is also accused of having one of his co-workers drive the 16- year-old girl, who was in the country illegally, to his condo in Costa Mesa July 11, 2009, where he allegedly raped her.

The co-worker told the girl they had to pick up dry cleaning at a hotel, but first had to get some paperwork at Ramirez's home, Walker said. After he raped her, the girl said she would go to police, prompting Ramirez to reply, "Go ahead, you're here illegally -- it's your word against mine, good luck with that,'' Walker said.

The girl told co-workers and went to police the following week on the advice of an attorney, Walker said. The girl has a lawsuit pending against Ramirez. Deputy Public Defender Celia Laureles told jurors Ramirez's friend from Anaheim was angered the day after the two had sex because he "blew her off.'' Laureles also noted the woman had three drinks at the bar and drank more when she got home.

First Class Cleaners is a "cesspool of gossip,'' where employees wrongly thought Ramirez was the owner, Laureles said. A "perfect storm'' developed when a group of co-workers, including the 16-year-old girl, saw an opportunity to sue Ramirez for the alleged rape and other issues, Laureles said.

"You're going to hear (the 16-year-old girl) has some credibility issues,'' Laureles said, adding her friends at work told her "she can get money for this.'' The civil lawsuit was filed three weeks after the alleged rape, Laureles said. "What she says doesn't ring true because it's not true,'' Laureles said. 

-- City News Service