US hardcore band Betrayal say they’re “shocked and disappointed” after drummer Tony Ramirez was arrested on child porn charges.
The 22-year-old was detained by police in Vancouver, Washington in July. He appeared in court earlier this month, charged with two counts of dealing images depicting a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. He remains in jail and is expected in court again in October.
Now the six-year-old band have released a statement, distancing themselves from Ramirez and saying they broke ties with him in 2012.
They report: “Tony hasn’t been a member of Betrayal for over two years. He had some unfortunate events in his life that did not allow him to commit full-time. If you follow us you would notice that Tony hasn’t been in our promo pictures or on tour with us in quite some time.”
But they add: “We want to say how shocked and disappointed we are about the allegations. this is something we would never have expected to hear.
“We sincerely hope these allegations prove to be false – but regardless, this is something that we do not take lightly, and something that shouldn’t be reflected upon Betrayal.”
