Elizabeth Man Convicted Of Sex Assault, Trying To Abduct Student

ELIZABETH, NJ — A Union County man was found guilty by a jury for grabbing a young girl off the street as she walked to school in 2016 and sexually assaulting her before a good Samaritan intervened, acting Union County Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan announced Monday.

Jair Ramirez, 43, was convicted on charges of second-degree sexual assault, second-degree luring, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and fourth-degree lewdness.

The then-10-year-old girl was walking to school on the 200 block of Orchard Street in Elizabeth on Sept. 30, 2016 shortly before 8 a.m. when Ramirez went up to her with his pants unzipped and genitals exposed, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor and Special Victims Unit Supervisor Caroline Lawlor, who prosecuted the case.

Ramirez grabbed the girl and started dragging her between two houses when a resident of the neighborhood, an Elizabeth Public Schools Spanish teacher, saw what was going on and started yelling loudly, Lawlor said.

Ramirez stopped what he was doing, threatened the woman, and then ran away, according to Monahan.

Ramirez was identified as the suspect and arrested shortly following an Elizabeth Police Department investigation led by Detective Mike Gonzalez.

Ramirez is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced next month when he faces a sentence of up to 10 years in state prison.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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