By Rebecca Henely
Seemona Sumasar said following the sentencing of Jerry Ramrattan, who raped her and then enacted an elaborate framing scheme that put her in prison for months, she would have to rebuild from the damage the ex-boyfriend had done to her life.
“I’ll have to start all over again,” Sumasar said, “and I’m OK with that.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter last week sentenced Ramrattan to 27 1/3 to 32 years in prison for rape, three counts of perjury, two counts of conspiracy, one count of tampering with a witness and three counts of falsely reporting an incident.
He also was ordered to pay thousands of dollars in damages and will be eligible for parole after 24 years, when he will be subject to 10 years of post-release supervision.
Ramrattan was convicted in November of raping Sumasar in the basement of her Far Rockaway home, where he was allowed to live in March 2009. The jury also found Ramrattan guilty of threatening one person and paying two others to lie and say Sumasar and another one of her ex-boyfriends, Vishnanauth “Elvis” Bandhu, had robbed them in Queens and Nassau counties in 2009 and 2010.
As a result of these false accusations, Sumasar was held in Nassau County prison for almost seven months in 2010 in lieu of a $1 million bond. During this time, she was separated from her 13-year-old daughter, Chiara McDonald, she lost her business and her home went into foreclosure.
Sumasar said despite the long sentence, she still feels threatened. In her statement at his sentencing Jan. 4, Sumasar described Ramrattan as a sociopath who would prey on another person if he were released.
“You’re evil,” Sumasar said to him. “I don’t even have words for you.”
Speaking at his sentencing, Ramrattan maintained his innocence.
“I accept what happened to me today, but I know by no means it’s over,” Ramrattan said.
During Sumasar’s statement, a man in the courtroom called her a liar and was escorted out. Ramrattan’s mother also began wailing during his statement. She cried out, “Jerry! Jerry!” as she was removed from the courtroom.
Both Ramrattan and his attorney, Frank Kelly, argued for a more lenient sentence. Kelly described Ramrattan as a family man and said he still had the support of his three children and his wife from whom he is separated. Kelly also said Ramrattan’s son was bullied in school due to the case.
“I think that my client has suffered from media attention and his family has suffered as well,” Kelly said.
Ramrattan made numerous calls from Rikers Island to TimesLedger Newspapers requesting media coverage before his trial.
Buchter said while he felt sympathy for Ramrattan’s children, the nature of his crimes deserved no mercy. He also said Ramrattan’s choice to maintain his innocence was not accepting responsibility for his actions.
“The defendant is the architect of his own ruin,” Buchter said.
Sumasar has a lawsuit in court against the city and Queens and Nassau counties and their police departments in regards to her false arrest.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
