Man Charged with Sexually Assaulting Toddler Committed to Mental Hospital

Eugene Ramos, the man charged with sexually assaulting a 2-year-old inside a Dollar Tree store in December, was committed to a mental institution Friday morning in order to restore his mental competency.

At 10:50 a.m., Alameda County Superior Court Judge Dennis McLaughlin reviewed a report on Ramos’ mental competency in which a court-appointed doctor recommended he receive anti-psychotic medication.

McLaughlin ordered Ramos, 36, be committed to Napa State Hospital for a maximum of three years where he will receive anti-psychotic medication.

Ramos, who conversed with public defender Kristen McCannon via a Tagalog language interpreter, agreed to receive the medication voluntarily.

Ramos initially requested a specific medication that he received as a Napa State Hospital patient from 2003 to 2005. He was previously committed to the institution under similar circumstances stemming from a sexual asault on a 7-year-old in 2003.

However, McLaughlin denied the request due to the fact doctors may recommend a different medication for Ramos. In the case that he does not comply and refuses to take the medication, he will have to appear in court again in order for the judge to allow the medication be administered involuntarily.

“We’re hoping he’ll just take it,” said Deputy District Attorney Angela Backers. Once Ramos is found competent, he can be tried for the assault, she said.

Backers clarified after the court appearance that it is the doctor who stated that Ramos is incompetent. She believes otherwise.

Ramos was previously for an evaluation of his mental capacity after experiencing a mental breakdown at a February court appearance. During , Ramos was unresponsive to both his Tagalog language interpreter and Alameda County Superior Court Judge Dennis McLaughlin, who said he had a “serious doubt as to (Ramos') competency.”

Ramos has been in custody since December on charges of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, attempted unlawful intercourse with a child under the age of 10 and assault with the intent to commit rape.

On Dec. 1, Union City police say Ramos, a registered sex offender, at about 1 p.m. inside the  store in the Union Square Marketplace.

According to police, the girl had wandered one aisle over from her grandmother and aunt. Less than a minute later, her relatives found the girl pinned down by Ramos, police said.

Surveillance footage at the discount store shows Ramos running away as the girl's relatives give chase. Two men saw the suspect running away and tackled him, holding him down until police arrived.

This is not the first time Ramos has been charged with sexually assaulting a child, nor the first time that he’s been committed to Napa State Hospital for mental incompetency.

Ramos was previously charged in January 2003 with sexually assaulting a 7-year-old child in Hayward. In that case, Ramos initially was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial and committed to Napa State Hospital. He was eventually found competent, convicted and sentenced to four years in state prison, according to court records. 

Ramos could receive a maximum sentence of 21 years if he is convicted on all three current charges, prosecutors said.