UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. RENE RAMIREZ GOMEZ - Articles

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. RENE RAMIREZ GOMEZ

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Mar 3, 2025

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Jennifer Niles Coffin, FEDERAL DEFENDER SERVICES OF EASTERN TENNESSEE, INC., Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Brian Samuelson, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellee.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Jennifer Niles Coffin, FEDERAL DEFENDER SERVICES OF EASTERN TENNESSEE, INC., Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellant.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Brian Samuelson, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellee.

Judge(s): THAPAR, NALBANDIAN, and RITZ, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. This case forces us to confront the tragic consequences of a child rapist’s illegal crossings into the United States. After Rene Ramirez Gomez unlawfully entered the United States, he raped his biological daughter multiple times. After serving a short state-court sentence, he was deported. But he returned—crossing the border illegally yet again. Operating under a false name, Ramirez Gomez sexually abused the three young children of his new girlfriend. Indiana charged him for those offenses, while the federal government charged him with failure to register as a sex offender and with illegal re-entry into the United States. Ramirez Gomez pled guilty to the federal charges and was sentenced to 51 months in prison, to be served on top of his anticipated state-court sentence. He now brings two procedural challenges to his federal sentence. Ramirez Gomez raped his own daughter, was deported, and then returned only to molest three more children. As the district court put it, Ramirez Gomez is a “complete predator on minor kids.” R. 51, Pg. ID 722. For the reasons set forth above, we reject Ramirez Gomez’s challenges to his 51-month federal sentence for (a) failing to register as a sex offender and (b) illegally re-entering the United States as a previously deported alien.

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