PHOTO: The accused was a Tae Kwon Do instructor who worked at a Corona branch of United Tae Kwon Do Centers. Photo Courtesy of United TKD Centers
By Forum Staff
Four female students between the ages of 12 and 14 were sexually abused over the past year and a half, allegedly by their instructor at a Corona martial arts studio, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Lorenzo Ramos, 26, of Corona, has been charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of first-degree attempted sexual abuse, eight counts of forcible touching, two counts of second-degree sexual abuse, three counts of third-degree sexual abuse, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and three counts of second-degree harassment.
The Tae Kwon Do instructor was initially arraigned earlier this month on charges in an incident involving one girl, and then again last Friday, to answer to charges regarding three other girls.
According to the charges, Ramos, while working as an instructor at United Tae Kwon Do on Roosevelt Avenue, on multiple occasions between May 1, 2015, and Feb. 25, 2016, allegedly approached his four female victims individually and touched them in an inappropriate manner. His alleged actions ranged from hugging them and picking them up, to grabbing their breasts and squeezing their buttocks.
In one incident he allegedly rubbed his penis against the vagina of one of the 12-year-old victims over her clothing; and in another, he allegedly rubbed his hand up and down the side of the body of a 14-year-old victim.
Ramos also allegedly offered to or actually provided money to three of the girls and, in one instance, when he offered money to one of the 14-year-old victims, he told her not to “say anything because both of us will be killed.”
“These are serious allegations,” Brown said. “As a martial arts instructor, the defendant was supposed to train his students to protect themselves from unwanted advances. Instead he is accused of taking advantage of his teaching position to touch his students in inappropriate ways.”
According to police, the victims began talking about their experiences among each other, and then discussed what had happened with the owners of the studio. Ramos was terminated, and one of the victims told her mother, who then called the police.
If Ramos is convicted, he faces up to seven years behind bars and would be required to register as a sex offender upon release. He was ordered held on a total of $31,000 bail, and ordered to return to court on April 1.
Anyone who believes that they may have been a victim of abuse of this nature is asked to contact the NYPD’s Queens Special Victims Squad at (718) 520- 9277.
