Guatemalan Man Pleads Guilty to Kidnapping Minor Smuggled into US

Spartanburg, SC – In a shocking case of human trafficking, 35-year-old Bernardino de Jesus Ramirez-Ramirez, a/k/a Carlos Mendoza, plead guilty to kidnapping and illegal transportation of an alien in federal court.

According to the US Attorney’s Office, Ramirez paid for a 16-year-old girl to be smuggled into the United States from Guatemala in October 2022. He directed the minor’s journey into the US and instructed her to turn herself in to immigration officials after she crossed the border, providing them with his name and contact information as the person who was supposed to receive her.

The minor was taken into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and placed in a shelter for unaccompanied alien children. Officials at the shelter soon discovered that the minor was not related to Ramirez and had never met him before. He had paid her smuggling debt and had work lined up for her in the US, posing a risk of labor trafficking.

A forensic examination of Ramirez’s phone revealed that he was fixated on gaining control over the minor, exchanging messages with her family regarding her smuggling debt and indicating he would do whatever it took to get her into his custody. He told the minor that because of the “favor” he extended her in helping her get to the US, she had to live with him.

On April 5, 2023, Ramirez drove from Missouri to the victim’s home in South Carolina, threatening to deport her back to Guatemala if she didn’t come with him. The victim, believing her debt would increase if she didn’t comply, agreed to leave with Ramirez. He drove her to his home in Kansas City, Missouri, where she was recovered by law enforcement officials the following day.

“Every child deserves to grow up in a safe environment, free from the threat of harm,” said Adair F. Boroughs, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. “Crimes that exploit and endanger our young people will be met with swift accountability.”

U.S. District Judge Donald C. Coggins accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Ramirez after receiving a sentencing report from the U.S. Probation Office. Ramirez faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison, a fine of up to $500,000, and at least three years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and the Newberry Police Department, with assistance from the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carrie Fisher Sherard and Kathleen Stoughton are prosecuting the case.