Austin Man Gets 25 Years for Abusing Two Children Under 14, No Parole

A Travis County jury sentenced 36-year-old Samuel Ramirez to 25 years in prison this week after convicting him of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, a case involving two young victims that took more than three years to move from arrest to verdict. The sentence is the mandatory minimum under Texas law, and Ramirez will not be eligible for early release.

Austin police arrested Ramirez in February 2023, according to court records cited by the Travis County District Attorney's Office. He was indicted in October 2024 on three counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, three counts of aggravated assault of a child, and six counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact. As reported by KEYE, jury selection for his trial began on August 10, and jurors returned a guilty verdict on August 13 before handing down the sentence the following day.

District Attorney José Garza said the verdict may continue to support the victims' healing process, and added that his office was grateful to its dedicated staff and law enforcement partners, per the district attorney's office. In line with victim protection policies the office adopted in 2023, the two child victims in the case are identified only by initials in court filings, a practice meant to shield young survivors from public exposure and further trauma.

What a 25-Year Sentence Actually Means

Continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 is a first-degree felony under Texas Penal Code § 21.02, carrying a mandatory minimum of 25 years and a maximum of 99 years or life, according to FindLaw. The statute was enacted in 2007 as part of Texas's Jessica's Law framework, aimed specifically at recurring abuse of children. Because the offense falls under that framework, Texas Government Code § 508.145 requires Ramirez to serve his full term behind bars, with no possibility of discretionary parole, the Flanary Law Firm explains.

The law also lowers the evidentiary bar in a way that matters for young victims: jurors do not have to unanimously agree on the specific dates or individual acts of abuse, only that at least two abusive acts occurred over a period of 30 or more days, according to Deandra Grant Law. That framework was written with child witnesses in mind, since young victims often struggle to recall exact chronological details of repeated abuse.

Part of a Broader Pattern in Travis County

Ramirez's case is not an isolated one for Travis County prosecutors. In March, a Travis County jury convicted 58-year-old Charlie Simon of the same offense following an Austin Police Department investigation, sentencing him to 50 years with no parole, the district attorney's office noted. Hoodline has also reported a 32-year no-parole term in a similar Central Texas case, part of a pattern of continuous-abuse convictions carrying lengthy mandatory sentences across the region.

The Austin Police Department's Child Abuse Unit, which investigated Ramirez, holds primary responsibility for physical abuse cases involving children 14 and younger and sexual abuse cases involving victims younger than 17 within city limits, according to the City of Austin. The unit works alongside the Austin/Travis County Child Protection Team, established in 1991. Travis County's District Attorney's Office maintains 22 attorneys dedicated to child exploitation and abuse cases, including one embedded directly at Austin's Center for Child Protection, as detailed by KVUE.

The Scale of the Problem Locally

The volume of cases moving through that system is significant. Officials conducted more than 5,000 investigations into child abuse and neglect across Travis County in 2025 alone, the station reported. Statewide, the nonprofit SAFE Alliance recorded 58,000 confirmed child victims of abuse and neglect in 2023, with roughly 1,800 of those victims located in Travis County — and local child advocacy groups note that 98% of those victims were harmed by someone they knew.

Not every Travis County child sex abuse case has ended in a lengthy prison term. Hoodline previously reported on felonies dropped in a probation deal in a separate case, underscoring how outcomes can vary even within the same county's prosecution efforts. Ramirez's case, by contrast, went to trial and ended with the statutory minimum sentence and no path to early release.