Ramon Baker
An Atlantic City teen accused of attempted sexual assault of a minor was ordered held in a juvenile detention center this week.
Ramon Baker, 18, faces seven charges, including two counts each of lewdness and showing obscene materials to minors.
He is accused of showing an 8- and 11-year-old pornography and masturbating in front of them, according to the charges. Baker also allegedly tried to assault the 8-year-old.
“What is most troubling to the state is that this is not the defendant’s first time,” Chief Assistant Prosecutor Erika Halayko told the judge.
The 11-year-old was 9 when the original case happened in 2022.
Because Baker was 17 at the time, he went through the juvenile system. No details of those charges were given.
In that case, Baker was given what is known as a stationhouse adjustment, which allows a first-time juvenile offender to avoid a criminal record.
Baker was given that diversion in October, around the time he turned 18 and just weeks before the newest allegations came Nov. 1.
The violation led to him being sentenced to 12 months of parole in the prior case, which was reduced to a third-degree obscenity case with no Megan’s Law requirements, defense attorney Samantha Geisinger told the judge.
The sentence also includes what would amount to nine to 10 hours of court-mandated therapy, Geisinger said, including behavioral assessment and sex-specific therapy.
His prior defense attorney in the juvenile system, Anthony Previti, was able to get him placed in the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center rather than the Atlantic County jail’s adult facility.
That is where he will remain after Halayko successfully argued for detention.
While the prosecutor said she normally would not mention juvenile history, “what is most telling about that is this defendant’s criminal actions remain unabated,” she said. “He continues to post a serious risk toward minor children in the community.”
Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Wilson agreed, calling for Baker’s continued detention.
