The U.S. Marshals Service on Wednesday announced the arrest of Fernando Gonzalez Ramirez, a 32-year-old Panamanian citizen who is wanted in Franklin, Tennessee, where the Marshals said “he is alleged to have sexually assaulted multiple boys while helping run a youth baseball program” from 2023 to 2024.
According to the press release, federal law enforcement tracked Gonzalez Ramirez (pictured above) to Mexico, Japan, and Panama before the Marshals arrested him in the Dominican Republic “within hours” after their foreign field office received a tip about his location.
He was initially flown to New Jersey and, on Wednesday, was being extradited to Tennessee, the Marshals reported.
The Franklin Police Department (FPD) was described as the “investigating agency” in the case, and the department asked the public to contact FPD with more information.
“We’re grateful to the [Marshals] for their assistance in locating and apprehending the suspect in this case,” the department wrote in a post to X. “Anyone who believes they may have been victimized or has information related to this investigation is urged to contact Franklin Police.”
We’re grateful to the @USMarshalsHQ for their assistance in locating and apprehending the suspect in this case. Anyone who believes they may have been victimized or has information related to this investigation is urged to contact Franklin Police. https://t.co/IuIZMKJpRI
— Franklin Police Department (@FranklinTNPD) October 28, 2026
Though it is unclear how long Gonzalez Ramirez was in the United States, an August 2018 article published by the Spanish-language Panamanian newspaper Critica listed him as a representative of the Diamond Elite Baseball Academy who had traveled to the United States since about 2015.
Another Spanish-language media outlet, Destino Panama, also identified the man arrested in the Dominican Republic as the same man who worked as Diamond Elite Baseball Company’s Panamanian representative.
The outlet also reported that Gonzalez Ramirez obtained his plane tickets to Japan through an agreement between a Panamanian business and a division of the nation’s Institute of Sports.
The case follows the 30-year sentence imposed upon Camilo Campos-Hurtado, an illegal alien from Mexico who posed as a coach in order to gain access to children.
Campos-Hurtado was charged in Franklin after he left his cell phone at a local business, where employees discovered child sexual exploitation material (CSAM) on the device.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
