November 5, 2009 10:02 AM

While Dozens Gawked at Richmond Rape, One Brave Girl Called 911

By
Edecio Martinez
Topics
Daily Blotter
(KPIX/CBS5)
Photo: Margarita Vargas.

RICHMOND, Calif. (CBS/KPIX) On Oct. 24, police say dozens of teens gawked, laughed and took photographs while a 15-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped and beaten outside a Richmond High School homecoming dance.

But one brave girl, who was not even there, wouldn't stand for it.

"I was watching a movie, and my brother-in-law came in and he told me 'I don't know what to do, because there is a girl back there and she has been raped. I'm scared,'" 18-year-old Margarita Vargas said.

"I'm like 'We should call the cops because that's the right thing to do.' I didn't think about it twice."

Vargas said she called police because she would want someone to do the same if she ever was in that situation.

After making the call, Vargas went to the scene to check on the girl.

"I could tell that she had been beat up because her face was swollen," Vargas said. "She was naked, didn't have shoes. They just covered her up and stuff."

VIDEO COURTESY OF CBS AFFILIATE KPIX

The girl who was attacked is just a few years younger than the woman police now call the "Good Samaritan." Vargas said she would like to reach out to the victim again.

"I would like to talk to her. I would just, not to be nosey or stuff, but I would like to ask how she's feeling. I would want her to know that she can get through it. It will take awhile but she can get through it," she said.

Vargas said she would pick up that phone again and call for help. But she also understands why others won't.

"I think people are scared, especially in a community like this where 'snitching' is a big thing to people," she said.

Vargas said she does not believe there is such a thing as "snitching," especially in a case such as this. Calling for help, she said is just the right thing to do.

Story Contributed by CBS Affiliate KPIX

MORE ON CRMESIDER
October 30, 2009 - Will Richmond High Gang Rape Gawkers Go Free?
October 29, 2009 - Richmond High School Gang-Rape: 4 Teens Charged Could Face Life in Prison
October 28, 2009 - Richmond High School Gang Rape: Three More Arrests in Homecoming Attack
October 27, 2009 - Richmond High School Gang-Rape in California: Others Watched and Did Nothing, Say Cops


Add a Comment See all 85 Comments
by x0xBrookersx0x November 16, 2010 5:19 PM EST
There needs to be more people like this girl. not cowardly pussys.
Reply to this comment
by sharkboy234 December 20, 2009 10:01 PM EST
That talented girl need to sign up bonnie's kindhearted kids and make apperence on the talk show speak up for her self and tell a story.
Reply to this comment
by Jackmouve December 3, 2009 6:08 PM EST
OK, let me just say some things here. First and formost, thanks to Margarita for being a caring human being, not just for calling 911, but also going to the scene and checking on the victem AND reaching out to her after the fact. True, anyone should have called the cops, alot might have actually gone to check on the girl but few would have reached out to her after, ESPECIALLY in a community where "Snitch" retaliation is a REAL possibility. Easy to be a "hero" in a "white" (as you put it) community where retaliation is a minimal concern. I wonder how many of you "upstanding citizens" living in this community would have gotten involved to the point of having your name and picture on the web? These good people living in these presumed ALL BAD communities should be commended for having the same values and people that live in the "white" comunities. The simple fact is something bad happened and she got involved and from the sounds of it, without a second thought AND she doesn't care who knows it. Sounds like a hero to me, and I'll be not at all suprised if she goes on to do big things with her life. People like these are what makes saving these communities so important. So hop down from your high horses, because in her particular circumstance, NOT ANYONE would have OR DID do anything but HER.
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by Gin99G November 7, 2009 10:36 PM EST
Well, I hope the rapists get serious prison time and will be permanently recorded in the Sex Offender register. This girl was only 15, a child in the eyes of the law. I say thank you to our young Heroine. Hold true and don't let what anybody say get you down. You did right and God Bless. :)
Reply to this comment
by tomrobla November 7, 2009 12:30 PM EST
Shows you how messed up Richmond is. Locals are enjoying a gang rape of a girl. Nobody calls the cops. This woman is considered a hero for doing what most people in other communities ( yeah white ) would have done without a thought.
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by erb0087 November 7, 2009 4:43 AM EST
Margarita Vargas is a true heroine.

They should not have published her name and photograph like this.

There's bound to be idiots out there who will regard this fine young woman as a "snitch."
Reply to this comment
by topher21 November 7, 2009 1:12 AM EST
Kids today are too stupid. im just 24 and you see how younger kids act, with no reguard for consiquences. The society, in radio and tv, promotes sex, cursing, and the rap culture a lot more. Still this all goes back to parenting, thats the major change. When these kids go to jail they will realize they were so dumb, but they think they won't get in trouble just like their favorite rappers. If I was with six buddies and seen a girl naked asking for us to. We would still have enough comman sense that jail would be the outcome if we did.
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by Phxfire November 7, 2009 3:29 AM EST
Some of the 'kids' involved (incl. watching, laughing, taping) were your age. Its not a recent phenom that kids have become numb and callous through tv, movies, videos and uninvolved parents.
by bubbadubba November 6, 2009 8:36 PM EST
Incredible hero, she dialed 911?.
If she had not made a big deal about it no one would even know who called.
I saw a story where a dog dialed 9/11 after a woman passed out.
I've seen stories about 80 year old women who called 9/11 during gang fights and shootings in front of their houses.
Trash me or whatever, I do not praise people for doing what any normal human being should do unless they are a savage.
Give me a break.
Reply to this comment
by Whydowe November 7, 2009 1:38 AM EST
Nobody is claiming that she is an incredible hero. But, what she did was the "right" thing. Something that many people, in this situation and others, don't do. And, how do you know that she made a big deal? Perhaps, a reporter was looking for a story, and called the police to find out if anyone DID call 911. It would be natural for them to go out and find this girl. And, why shouldn't she tell her story? It's one positive outcome(and deed) from an otherwise tragic event.
by Phxfire November 7, 2009 3:31 AM EST
The police have a record of who calls, perhaps they called. Or maybe she was sending a message to her community that they need to be better people. She risked reprisals for making that call. She is a great deal more of a hero then you will ever be and a better human being. You're a slug.
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by keepin_the_peace November 6, 2009 4:39 PM EST
I am shocked and disgusted that no one called the police sooner!!!
LIKE HELLO!?!? What the heck!
What if that was your sister or cousin or niece? Or even your friend! Seriously!
It is not okay to watch a crime being committed, especially a crime as brutal and disgusting as this.
Those men, or should I say 'boys' should be castrated and locked up and never released. They are obviously too pathetic to be considered human beings.
Does anyone have MORALS or VALUES these days??????
Reply to this comment
by puzzler125 November 6, 2009 3:04 PM EST
P.S. Anyone who points out the fact that the last person to leave before a raid, any crime is the one to...well? What IS your point? That's the person who's a "rat" in your book? That's the person who is a lifesaver and if you ever get into trouble MAYBE one of us will call 911. Know what? We will because we don't stop to think that the person we're calling for is an a.h. By the way? They should NEVER have posted the name and picture of the girl who called-for her own protection. Snitch? NO WAY! That doesn't exist in my book. But apparently in some places that is a self-imposed "crime" and she will have to watch her back now.
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