PHOENIX, Az — A Phoenix middle school assistant principal is facing charges after Glendale police say she knew her son was sexually abusing her two adoptive daughters and didn’t report it.
Dr. Ramona Ramirez, 73, works at Isaac Middle School. The Isaac School District says in a letter to families they've put her on administrative leave. She’s charged with child endangerment and failure to report abuse.
Her son, 32-year-old Vicente San Diego Ramirez, is charged with sexual conduct with a minor, molestation, indecent exposure, and exploitation of a minor.
The case started Oct. 14, when a 16-year-old girl went to a Glendale Police school resource officer. She told him her adoptive brother had been sexually abusing her and her 15-year-old sister.
Police say the abuse went on for years, starting when the girls were around 9. Investigators also found out about video recordings involving the girls and Ramirez.
The girls had already told their adoptive mother, police said.
Detectives from the department’s Special Victims Unit got involved, along with the Arizona Department of Child Safety. They served search warrants at two homes tied to Ramirez.
At the family’s home, Glendale Police Sgt. Justin Ramsey said, Dr. Ramirez tried to keep officers out.
“She tells the officers that they’re not allowed to come into her house, even though we have a search warrant,” Ramsey said. He added that Ramirez also locked her son’s bedroom door.
Detectives tracked Vicente Ramirez to a family rental property in Glendale and arrested him there. Dr. Ramirez was arrested later during a traffic stop and booked into the Maricopa County Jail.
Virginia Bagby, who runs the National Child Abuse Hotline at Childhelp, says people often assume reporting abuse is only a job for teachers and school staff.
“It’s pretty safe to assume anybody who has contact with children or is responsible for the care of children, including parents, are mandated to report suspicion of child abuse and neglect,” she said.
That’s the case in Arizona. State law names a child’s parent, stepparent, or guardian as someone required to report suspected abuse. When the abuse is sexual, failing to report it is a felony.
Sexual abuse has also become a bigger part of Arizona’s child abuse cases. In 2020, it was involved in 3.9% of the state’s confirmed child abuse victims. By 2024, that number was 6.4%. It went up every year in between, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Bagby says the hotline is hearing from more kids now, many of them through new ways to get help online.
“We have seen kiddos as young as seven reaching out to us through web chat,” she said. “They’re very adept with technology, and so it's possible now for younger kids to be reaching out.”
In the letter sent to families on Oct. 19, the Isaac School District said it found out about the arrest on the afternoon of Oct. 16, and that as far as it knows, the arrest has nothing to do with Dr. Ramirez’s work with students.
Both girls are in DCS custody for now. Glendale police say the investigation is still open.
If you think a child is being abused, call the Arizona Department of Child Safety hotline at 1-888-SOS-CHILD (1-888-767-2445). You can also call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
