Victim testifies against former Tulare County Sheriff's sergeant accused of kidnapping, torture

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A former Tulare County Sheriff's sergeant came face-to-face in a Visalia courtroom with the woman he's charged with kidnapping and torturing.

The testimony on Monday came as Richard Ramirez now faces a second trial.

The victim described the moments that led to a medical aid call at McAuliff Street and Walnut Avenue in October of 2023.

"He slowly tore the ligaments in my hand with just pulling it bad," recalled the victim, who was 26 years old at the time.

"When I was trying with all the force in my body to pull up and he kept going down and said, 'Oh, does that hurt? This is what you do to me,'" the victim recalled.

The victim also alleges that Ramirez broke her nose.

"He kept screaming, and at that point I was sitting in the back seat and blood was gushing out of my nose. He said, 'This is what you get. Look what you did to yourself. You weren't pretty anyway. I fixed it for you.'" the victim explained.

Visalia police say a witness was woken up by the victim yelling for help.

"She had heard the female screaming to let her go and that he had bashed her head on the ground, broken her nose already and just to let her go home," said Visalia Police Officer Mattos.

The victim says she had met Ramirez in April of 2023.

She testified they were not in a relationship, but she had asked him for a ride from Tulare to Visalia the night of the attack.

She also says he raped her in the past and threatened her family.

In court, the defense questioned why she would accept a ride home from Ramirez despite past allegations of violence.

After the hearing, his attorney declined our request for an interview.

The judge held Ramirez to answer on charges of kidnapping, torture, and causing great bodily injury.

That means there is enough evidence for a trial.

He's scheduled to be back in court on September 30.

For news updates, follow Kassandra Gutierrez on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.