McALLEN — A federal judge granted leniency to a Louisiana man convicted of participating in the kidnapping of a McAllen teen who was later sexually assaulted by his friend.
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez on Wednesday sentenced Jose Ramos-Serrano, 25, to 4 1/2 years in federal prison for his role in the 2020 kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl.
In handing down that punishment, Alvarez made a so-called “downward departure” — sentencing Ramos-Serrano to years less time than the 10-year mandatory minimum he had originally faced.
As part of the sentence, the judge also factored into account a five-month credit for time Ramos-Serrano spent in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center immediately after his June 2020 arrest.
“Despite the seriousness of the offense… I am going to sentence you to below what the government recommends,” Alvarez said during the hearing.
As part of an Oct. 5, 2022, plea deal, Ramos-Serrano admitted to kidnapping the girl, who his friend and co-defendant, Brandon Galvez, 24, had met through Snapchat.
Ramos-Serrano admitted to driving Galvez from Louisiana to the Rio Grande Valley to meet the girl, then attempting to drive back to Louisiana with them both.
Galvez and the teen had started talking to each other via Snapchat sometime in June 2020, according to McAllen police.
Eventually, Galvez coordinated with Ramos-Serrano to travel to Texas to meet her in person.
Local law enforcement became aware of the kidnapping when the girl’s mother reported that she had run away and left a note on June 21, 2020.
The two men and the girl were apprehended later that same day at the Falfurrias checkpoint by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said the girl willingly entered the vehicle with the two defendants, but added that she was not old enough to legally make such a decision.
By the time Border Patrol agents recovered the girl, Galvez had already sexually assaulted her, Rodriguez said during a June 23, 2020, news conference.
“Many offenses, including sexual assault, had already transpired within the hour of leaving the house,” Rodriguez said then.
Last November, Galvez was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the girl’s kidnapping — the mandatory minimum sentence.
Like Ramos-Serrano, Galvez reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors.
In exchange for his guilty plea, the government agreed to drop two other charges of coercion and enticement of a minor, as well as conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in a criminal sexual act.
Each charge carried a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
But while Alvarez had referred to Galvez’s plot to kidnap and sexually assault the teen as “very calculated” during his November 2022 sentencing hearing, she intimated that she didn’t believe Ramos-Serrano had acted with similar malice.
Instead, the judge implied he had gotten himself into an unsavory situation and then ignored his instincts. One where he thought he was simply helping a friend.
“I find your situation to be different from his (Galvez’s) situation,” Alvarez told Ramos-Serrano Wednesday.
“You came into this situation believing it to be one thing, but at some point in time,” realized it was something else, Alvarez said. “And you moved forward with it.”
Ramos-Serrano’s own statements supported that interpretation.
“It was a mistake, your honor,” he said when given the chance to speak. “I was just trying to give somebody a ride.”
Prosecutors, too, believed Ramos-Serrano’s role to have been less significant than his co-defendant.
It was their motion — filed under seal on Monday — that requested the judge sentence him to a sentence lighter than the 10-year mandatory minimum for kidnapping a minor.
Ultimately, Alvarez sentenced Ramos-Serrano to slightly less time than the five years prosecutors had sought.
The judge said she hoped Ramos-Serrano would be more cautious and listen to his gut in the future.
In addition to the 4 1/2 years in prison, Ramos-Serrano will remain under court supervision for three years after his release.
The judge also ordered that he receive substance abuse counseling both in prison and while under supervised release.
Alvarez previously ordered Galvez to serve five years of supervised release after his 20-year prison term. He must also register as a sex offender.
Ramos-Serrano, who has remained at the East Hidalgo Detention Center since federal authorities took over the investigation in November 2020, will receive credit for that time, effectively leaving him with about two years left in custody.
