A judge denied a request for bond.
Frederick, Md (KM). Bond was denied this week for a Silver Spring man whose charged with raping a 12-year-old boy. Ramon Manuel De Los Reyes, 63, was arrested last week in Montgomery County and brought to Frederick.
He went before a judge on Tuesday. “He’s being held without bond on some very serious charges,” says State’s Attorney Charlie Smith. “Sexual solicitation of a minor, 2nd-degree rape and 3rd-degree sex offense of a 12-year-old. Obviously, something we just hate to see.”
On Monday morning just after midnight, Frederick Police Officers responded to a home of the 12-year-old victim. When they arrived, detectives were able to get an account of an incident earlier in the evening. The victim was transported to a local medical facility for treatment.
During their investigation, detectives identified the suspect as Ramon Manuel De Los Reyes. They said De Los Reyes and the victim met through a social media site called Planet Romeo.com. “He actually convinced the boy to send nude photos of himself to him. After he got the nude photos, he further convinced him to meet in person,” says Smith.
He says De Los Reyes drove up to Frederick and took the boy to Sliver Spring where he was sexually assaulted. He brought the victim back home and that’s when police were contacted.
With assistance from Montgomery County Police, Frederick Police served a search and seizure warrant on the location in Silver Spring on Thursday, December 14th, where the rape occurred, and took De Los Reyes into custody.
Frederick Police say De Los Reyes is a registered sex offender.
Smith says these people who prey on children are worse than murderers. “A lot of times you can get your head around a murder about why it happened, whether it’s a drug deal gone wrong or somebody trying to rob somebody. But for somebody to lure a 12-year-old and do all these horrible things to him. I just don’t’ understand it,” he says.
There’s one lesson that can be learned from this incident for children who use the internet and encounter strangers; they may not be who they say they are. Smith says they could also be sexual predators looking for kids. “I’ve spoken at many schools about internet safety. They know if they keep trying and trying and trying hundreds of them, they’re going to find one,” he says.
De Los Reyes represented himself to the victim as a 49-year-old man, when he’s actually 63 years of age.
In addition to the no-bond status, De Los Reyes must also undergo a psychological evaluation.
By Kevin McManus