By Danae Snell
SACRAMENTO — What began as a normal evening out with co-workers on Halloween night became a horror show when a young woman woke up to being sexually assaulted by the defendant not once, but twice in one night.
In a preliminary hearing heard here Friday in Sacramento County Superior Court, 27-year-old Daniel Ramos was charged with two sex assault felonies, and Deputy District Attorney James Wax summoned Deputy Michael Phan to explain the series of events that took place, according to the alleged victim.
Deputy Phan informed the court that he was dispatched to the victim’s home on November 1, 2018 at 11:55 a.m. after the victim called in to report a sexual assault.
The 22-year-old victim informed Deputy Phan: “She said that she went out with co-workers, they pre-drank at the house (the defendant’s), and then went to the club. They came back to the defendant’s residence after and she was feeling ill”…but her co-workers stayed a while.
According to the victim, “Throughout the night the others left, but she did not because she was not feeling well,” and fell asleep in the defendant’s bedroom after she was falling asleep on 
the couch—the defendant offered to let her sleep in his room.
When the victim woke up to being sexually assaulted by defendant Ramos; she immediately said no and tried to push him off.
However, the defendant continued and even told her, “I thought you broke up with your boyfriend.”
The victim told the deputy she is unsure what happened next because “she blacked out” and later woke up to the defendant assaulting her again. The victim informed Deputy Phan that the defendant held her down and would not stop and eventually she fell asleep again.
Later that night she “woke up to a cell phone text message from his (the defendant) phone,” and immediately left and went home.
The next day defendant Ramos sent the victim a text message stating, “I’m really sorry about what happened last night. I am really sorry.”
After she contacted authorities, Deputy Khan advised the victim to send a pretext message to the defendant in an attempt “to gain evidence from his response.”
The victim sent a pretext stating, “Sorry about what? You’re not supposed to take advantage of drunk people.”
In response, the defendant replied, “I’m sorry for being an asshole. That shouldn’t have happened, that’s on me, I got too drunk. I only remember bits and pieces of last night.”
Judge Laurel White ruled that there was “sufficient cause to believe Mr. Ramos is guilty thereof and he is therefore ordered to answer to both charges as set forth in the criminal complaint,” despite Assistant Public Defender Joshua Kurtz’ objections to the lack of details presented in court.
Defendant Ramos could face up to 10 years in a prison—his trial is set for February of 2021.
Danae Snell is a senior at Sacramento State majoring in Criminal Justice and is from Salinas, California.
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