Former supervisor in Chicago Park District lifeguard unit held on $500,000 bond after being charged with sexually assaulting teen employee
A onetime supervisor at the Chicago Park District was ordered held on $500,000 bond Thursday after being charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl who worked as a lifeguard for the district last summer.
Mauricio Ramirez was charged with one count of criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, authorities said. Judge Maryam Ahmad said Ramirez is a “real and present danger to the community” as she set bond and ordered Ramirez to return to court next month.
Ramirez, of the 6400 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue, must be placed on electronic monitoring if he is released and must have no contact with the alleged victim, the judge said.
The district has been roiled by abuse allegations in its lifeguard program this year, culminating in the resignation of its CEO this month.
Ramirez, 33, allegedly began texting a lifeguard he was supervising in July, authorities said. The texts led to phone conversations, and in one of those exchanges, the employee said she was 16 years old and was a junior in high school, Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Deboni said at the bond hearing for Ramirez.
Between July and September, Ramirez allegedly picked up the girl from her school twice, authorities said. Both times, Ramirez had her perform oral sex on him before driving her home, according to prosecutors.
On Aug. 28, Ramirez drove the employee home from the Park District, authorities said, and had sex with her in his car. The pair worked at the Humboldt Park facility, authorities said.
A lawyer for Ramirez, Paul De Luca, told the court Ramirez does not have a criminal history and that he worked for the Park District for more than 15 years. He currently works at Amazon and lives with his father, De Luca said.
The Park District first came under heavy scrutiny after WBEZ-91.5 FM earlier this year exposed wide-ranging claims of sexual misconduct among pool and beach employees. The Park District in August said it had disciplined more than 40 employees connected to the unit, including nine workers tied to an investigation of sexual misconduct and abuse.
Earlier this month, Mike Kelly, the Chicago Park District CEO, resigned the same day Mayor Lori Lightfoot called for him to step down over handling of the harassment allegations among lifeguards.
Two high-level managers were among those reprimanded during the probe.
In a Board of Commissioners meeting that was closed to the public, Lightfoot called Kelly’s lack of urgency and accountability “unacceptable.”
“It has been an honor to steward this extraordinary organization for the past ten years,” Kelly’s resignation letter read. “It has also been an honor to serve Chicagoans as a public servant for the past 27 years. I have always had the best interests of our patrons and our employees at heart.”
In the Ramirez case, prosecutors said, between July and September, the lifeguard snuck out of her home so Ramirez could picked her up and take her to his home. They allegedly had sex there as well, and Ramirez then drove the girl to her school later that morning, authorities said.
In late September, authorities said, the teen told a friend and her parents about the encounters between her and Ramirez. Her parents reported the incidents to police.
Ramirez originally was questioned by police Oct. 12 but was released without being charged, authorities said. DNA evidence eventually linked him to the girl’s assault, prosecutors said Thursday, and he was arrested this week.
