Two Florida women face child neglect charges after authorities allege they supplied a minor girl with alcohol before she was sexually assaulted by a 15-year-old boy in February, according to arrest documents from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Sandra Vivine Suarez Ramirez, 40, and Janessa Marie Pierce, 23, were arrested Wednesday following a months-long investigation into the incident. Court records reveal the women picked up the victim—whose age was redacted from reports—from her uncle’s Key West home on February 11 before stopping at a Winn-Dixie liquor store and a gas station to purchase alcohol.
“Sandra told them to hide their faces from the camera,” the victim later told investigators, per the arrest warrant. At Pierce’s residence, the women allegedly provided the girl with Tito’s vodka, Twisted Tea, and Captain Morgan’s rum. The warrant states Suarez Ramirez, a relative of the victim, “would make her drink straight Tito’s vodka shots of alcohol from the bottle.”
The 15-year-old suspect—identified as Pierce’s brother—was also drinking, according to the report. The victim recounted that “Sandra told her that she was going to become a woman tonight,” an investigator wrote. Authorities say the assault occurred after the boy led the intoxicated girl to a bedroom where both women were initially present.
The victim reported that “two left when Sandra told Janessa to leave.” In interviews on February 19, Pierce claimed the alcohol was solely for herself and Suarez Ramirez, stating, “Janessa said she keeps a bottle of Captain Morgan Rum alcohol in the refrigerator and anyone has access to the alcohol.”
Both women denied supervising the teens, telling deputies they had gone to an unspecified party in Big Coppitt Key and were “in their room locking their door” during the incident. The teenage suspect, interviewed at a juvenile detention facility, told authorities he was too intoxicated to recall details but asserted the encounter was consensual: “The victim agreed to sexual intercourse by saying yes to him.”
Sheriff’s officials concluded the women “failed to protect” the victim. As of Thursday, both remained held at Monroe County’s Key West jail on $10,000 bond.
Legal Context
Florida law classifies supplying alcohol to minors as a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. Child neglect charges, depending on circumstances, can range from third-degree felonies to more severe penalties if harm results. The investigation remains ongoing. Authorities urge anyone with additional information to contact the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office tip line.