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Front Royal resident Willy David Weiss-Ramos, 57, was sentenced by a judge to serve at least seven years in the Virginia Department of Corrections - above the Virginia Sentencing Guidelines - for aggravated sexual battery of a child under the age of 13.
Prosecutors say that in January, Weiss-Ramos met with the his daughter's mother to discuss child support after he had been absent from their lives for approximately three years.
WARNING: The following content contains descriptions of sexual abuse.
During that conversation, Weiss-Ramos admitted that he ha inappropriately touched their daughter, then attempted to bribe the mother to not report the offense to the police, though the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office was ultimately contacted.
The subsequent investigation determined that Weiss-Ramos began to sexually abuse his daughter when she was 12 years old in 2020.
After abusing his daughter, prosecutors state that Weiss-Ramos told her that if she promised not to tell her mother, she could pick out whatever candy she would like from the grocery store.
The girl's mother later confirmed that she came home with candy after being out with her father.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Amelia Flynn represented the Commonwealth and read a statement about the impact Weiss-Ramos' actions had on their lives.
"I want to tell my story … when I first met him, I thought he’d be a great father, but he was a monster," they wrote. “I ask for God to forgive you, because I cannot.”
Flynn argued that Weiss-Ramos, “betrayed the trust of his daughter, shattered the innocence of his daughter, and took advantage of his daughter with special needs, and used that for his own sexual gratification.
"She thought it was normal, because ‘how could my father do this to me?’ Her own body felt foreign to her because of what the defendant did to her.”
Flynn argued for a sentence far above the guidelines saying, “the guidelines are simply inadequate.”
The punishment range recommended by the Virginia Sentencing Guidelines was approximately one to five years.
Before announcing Weiss-Flynn's sentence, Judge Stephen stated that "in our society, this country, this world, we have a responsibility to protect children, especially with special needs … you did not protect this child, you inflicted harm on her.
"The Court takes notice in this type of sexual abuse there is more than one event … it is selfish on top of any other ill motive—no recognition of wrong … the guidelines do not account for the magnitude of the impact on the victim … I am going to exceed the guidelines,” the judge continued.
Weiss-Ramos was sentenced to the maximum 20 years, with 13 years suspended. The suspended sentence is conditioned upon the satisfactory completion of twenty years of probation.
In addition to his prison term, Weiss-Ramos will also be required to register as a sex offender for life.
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