Police Look for More Suspects in Gang Rape

Authorities Say Crowd Looked on During Brutal Attack on Teenage Girl after Her Homecoming Dance

(CBS)  Classes were back in session at Richmond High School in San Francisco's East Bay Tuesday, with counselors available for students to talk about Saturday night's horrific crime - the gang rape on campus of a 15-year-old student who had just left the homecoming dance. The victim was airlifted to a local hospital after being beaten, robbed and raped.

A 19-year-old former student and a 15-year-old current student have been arrested, but more arrests are expected soon, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes.

"Multiple offenders, multiple people raping over prolonged period," said Lt. Mark Gagan with the Richmond police.

What makes this crime so shocking is that police say at least 20 people were involved in the rape or stood and watched the crime without going for help.

"These are witnesses that are encouraging and allowing behavior to continue," Gagan said.

For those who watched and did nothing, it may be morally reprehensible, but it's not illegal.

"Although this is a very difficult crime to hear about, the fact is California law does not impose an affirmative obligation on anyone to do anything when you are watching a crime," said Trent Copeland, a legal analyst.

Richmond High School has a 69 percent truancy rate and is in a school district that had 19 student murders last year. Fights at Richmond have been posted on YouTube, and a van was set on fire on the football field's new artificial turf. An investigation by CBS station KPIX-TV last year found only a handful of the 16 security cameras in the school were working.

On Friday, there were four Richmond police officers on duty at the dance, but the security guards patrolling the grounds were released at 9 p.m., a half-hour before the victim left the dance.

"Dance was successful event and safe for the students that were there," said Marin Trujillo, the West Contra Costa Unified School District spokesman. "This dance itself was a successful event."

Police are now searching for cell phone video that onlookers may have recorded. Wednesday, it's expected that the suspects will be in court for arraignment.

[aguf980]

It's odd that no mention has been made in the media about the girl's or the boys' race? Why is that? All we know is the last names of some of the boys and we've seen brief video of some being arrested. The names have been Hispanic and the videos show blacks and hispanics. If the girl is white, why isn't this being labeled and treated as a HATE Crime? After all she was beaten badly, aside from being brutally raped. I'm tired of all the media hype when it is a black person being hurt by whites, but when it is the other way around, it's all kept hush hush. I'm not prejudiced, I'm just tired of the double standard. Even if she were black and all the guys were Hispanic or white and she was badly beaten it should be treated the same, as a hate crime. Even if she were hispanic and all the guys were black or white, it should be treated the same. Hate is Hate.
Thank you.

[intepid]

If a hate crime was defined by the presence of hateful feelings then pretty much any violent crime would be classified as such. For it to be a hate crime it must be primarily motivated by the identification of the individual with some group.

In this case rather than race-baiting, how about looking at gender? This attack was far more likely motivated by the fact that she was female than that she was white.

[robotgir]

I keep reading a lot about the onlookers and perpetrators being 'animals.' This may be so, but are animals as heinous as this?

I don't think there is appropriate vocabulary to describe these individuals. Calling them animals is offensive to animals.

[Itneverchanges]

Nothing has changed in Richmond. I was bussed into the Richmond Schools 35 years ago. I was unable to finish school because I was jumped by girls too many times and my life was threatened. Many of these children come from the worst homes. Fathers who are in prison and mothers who are on drugs. Very poor people. Angry children and I see it has passed on to the next generation. So sad.

[rainbowroosie]

"This is what comes of years of permissiveness, entitlement, tolerance and no personal accountability or responsibility."

Sadly, our schools, our government, and many parents are simply inept. I have great sympathy for the victim and I hope the perps get the max. I challenge all of you to do what you can to reverse the above quote from nowhiningallowed. If not, you'll need to learn to live in fear.

[Maria-Ashot]

The people who stood by and watched the raped were active participants in a hate crime. Their presence multiplied the victim's suffering. A huge component of the suffering was the humiliation itself. The greater the number of people watching, laughing, not helping -- the worse the psychological trauma for the victim. After all, any crime has a psychological, mental as well as an emotional component -- not just the physical impact, not just the specific material damage done. Sexual violence in particular inflicts psychic trauma. To be viewed as less than human by an entire mob -- a mob, furthermore, that is not "passive" or "silent" at all, but that comes and goes and pulsates with pleasure at your own suffering: that is much more than merely being held down, raped or even kicked and brutalized by a gang of rapists. Absolutely, these "onlookers" were not mere bystanders -- they were accessories, they were purveyors and consumers of the event, as it were -- they were creating the "market" for the "commodity" which in this case happened to be the torture-rape of a very young girl from a community they viewed as being "different" from their own (even though she is a fellow student and a local resident). That makes this a hate crime, and all parties present accessories and enablers thereof. That they were accessories is manifested by the fact they did not make any attempt to report the more than two-hour-long event, even though police were just moments away, at the gym. in fact, it was the presence of the mob that made the attack last as long as it did, with the successive rapists essentially "putting on a show."

[lovenpeace1]

Folks,

American Parents buy video games for their children that are about explicit bloodly violence, bombings, crime, killings, Explosions, Sexuality, stealing and Raping. Its all very 'Cool' stuff.

It is common for thousand of homicides on the Streets of America and nobody in the neighborhood including parents knows nothing when the Police becomes aware of witnesses.

And yes, please continue to blame the school district and the U.S. Government for the bad manner and behavior of raising our children. They are the only ones fully Responsible.

With Liberty and Freedom comes Responsibilities. Here is a classic example of What is Freedom and Liberty without Responsibilities?

[lovenpeace1]

Folks,

American Parents buy video games for their children that are about explicit bloodly violence, bombings, crime, killings, Explosions, Sexuality, stealing and Raping. Its all very 'Cool' stuff.

It is common for thousand of homicides on the Streets of America and nobody in the neighborhood including parents knows nothing when the Police becomes aware of witnesses.

And yes, please continue to blame the school district for the bad manner and behavior of our children. They are the only ones fully Responsible.

With Liberty and Freedom comes Responsibilities. Here is a classic example of What is Freedom and Liberty without Responsibilities?

[lovenpeace1]

Folks,

American Parents buy video games for their children that are about explicit bloodly violence, bombings, Killings, Explosions, Sexuality and Raping. Its all 'Cool' stuff.

It is common for thousand of homicides on the Streets of America and nobody in the neighborhood including parents knows nothing when the Police becomes aware of witnesses.

And yes, please continue to blame the school district for the bad manner and behavior of our children. They are the only ones fully Responsible.

With Liberty and Freedom comes Responsibilities. Here is a classic example of What is Freedom and Liberty without Responsibilities?

[texttwist]

they should fire all the administration in this school and close it down forever. "Dance was successful event and safe for the students that were there," said Marin Trujillo, the West Contra Costa Unified School District spokesman. "This dance itself was a successful event." marin trujillo should be the first one fired. how dare he say this was a successful event....i cant imagine what an unsuccessful event is at this school. and why even hire security guards and police officers if they go home before the dance even gets fully underway. what planet are these school administrators from. they have a problem school to begin, deaths car fires, 69% truancy rate...and they stand by just like the disgusting animals that stood by and watched this poor child get raped and do nothing.

[incidence]

Yes, I agree. For the school district representative to focus on the "success of their homecoming dance" instead of the heinous crime that happened in their school grounds is just plain wrong. It sends the message that this school cares more about their image but do not care about putting up systems to keep the children safe. If I had a child going to the school, I would pull them out of there fast.

[Iamthemango]

As for the perps, chemically castrate them, braid their hair and send them to Rikers with "I'm Yours" tatooed on their foreheads.

With a near 70% truancy rate, a torched van on campus, and 19 murders so far this year, why wasn't this child chaperoned in the first place? Why was she drunk and how did she get so drunk? Why didn't she go with her father when he came to pick her up?

Interesting how the details morph, depending on which news outlet you follow and of course the race of the victim.

[scabbard2]

Jose Carlos Montano is an Evangelical Instant Replay Judge, and on the behest of the Evangelicals worldwide, has thrown the red flag, he is illegal and so are the rest of his homies, thereby anything they need, yada yada yada yada and some Al Sharpton with a slice of Jesse Jackson and Nancy Pelosi....and when the census comes, he ees a americun......ole.

[slimboss66]

I could be wrong but the ommission of this girl's race seems to mean that she's white. Race is never the issue if the victim is white and perpetrator(s) black but always is if the victim is black and perp white. The media immediately focuses on racial motivation with white perpetrators and ignores the racial element with blacks, thus perpetuating the false notion that racism is an exclusively white problem. In my life experience and according to FBI stats, blacks are far more likely to attack whites and regarding rape stats, the vast majority are black-on-white. Posters say race is irrelevant in this case, it wasn't when Sharpton concocted his white rapist hoax. Hate crime laws theoretically can be applied to anyone but in practice are mainly used against white perpetrators thus some citizens are more protected and thus valuable than others. The unspoken belief of our new religion "multiculturalism" is that this is justified payback for all the evil done by whites.

[robotgir]

88% of reported rapes involve survivors and perpetrators of the same race. DOJ/DIJ 2006

So by saying that vast majority of rapes are black on white, you are perpetuating the stereotype that popular media portrays.

Ultimately, does it really matter what race this girl is? Does it make it any more or less of a horrific event? All that matters is that a fifteen year old girl was gang raped at a school dance, with multiple onlookers who didn't do anything to help her. Race does not matter--all that matters is that she is a person, who will be traumatized by this for the rest of her life.

[TrevorK]

of course it matters. if it were a black girl being raped by whites the racial element would be smeared across every front page. it would be claimed as a hate crime and the victims race would have become a prime motivation for the inhuman actions of the perpetrators. the omission only clues people off to exactly what they are hiding and what they won't deal with. her race has everything to do with why she was victimized and why so many stood around watching without stepping in.

[prov1624]

we can't blame anybody but ourselves for not finding a middle ground for "religous activies in the school system", we always have to take it to the extreme for anything to change slightly...history repeats itself...we encourage "freedom" of what? to do this sort of thing? These kids abviously were confused? How can they know when they don't know any better? Sodom and Gamorrah have a better chance of entering heaven than this generation, Jesus said so....2k yrs ago too!

[prov1624]

This is what happens when we become "Amoral" society...Do not expect any less...Maybe the onlookers experienced this themselves in some form or done the same in the home you just don't know all the facts or paradigms...That is all they see in the game videos, violence, crime, rape, stealing, etc...How can you expect them to do the "right" thing when they do not know??? They are so syntheziced....

[DennisinSF]

"The dance ITSELF was a successful event."

I am speechless.

[millercec]

Since schools are no longer allowed to or require students to Salute our flag, pledge alliegance, or have a minute of silent prayer at the beginning of classes each day, children no longer respect anyone.
They think they can do anything and get away with it.

Put these things back into schools and they will change their ideas of respect. It will not stop rape but someone will at least call the police.

[jbrooks45]

Pray before you leave the house and keep a prayer in your heart. The bible says to "pray without ceasing (stopping)".

[jesmith5508]

Are you kidding me? Saluting the flag, pledging allegiance, or even prayer have no effect on the general morality of a population. I would even argue that saluting the flag and pledging allegiance to it are mindless activities that dumb down the population and create thoughtless blind allegiance. Studies have shown that prayer has no real-world impact on the course of events, so I don't know how that would make a difference either.

People are free to honor their nation and their religious beliefs in any way they want, but to make anything mandatory for everyone in a group is ludicrous and unconstitutional.

[robotgir]

What does saluting the flag, reciting the pledge of allegiance or silent prayer have to do with respect for others?

These tasks don't teach children how to respect others. Only discussing respect and demonstrating it will educate them. I remember saying the pledge and thinking it was completely pointless--there is no thought or understanding involved in memorizing.

[kiki_910]

This is an absurd comment!!! I am sure I will get blasted for this, but what does praying in school and saluting a flag have to do with the respect for life???? Or knowing what is right and wrong??? Your solution is to put this back in...I am in no way saying what happened is right!!! My heart goes out to this child and her family and hope that she receives the therapy it will take to over come this horrible tragedy. I do not pray nor did I say the pledge in school. Why do people always want to go off on a GOD tantrum?? The school is not there to teach our children respect for life. That is the parents job. On top of that rapes have been going on for years..people watching and doing nothing..even in the days of schools making kids pray and say the pledge. So see your comment is not more than another god loving comment on how praying can save people. When in all actuality people save people not your flag or your invisible friend!!!

[stefania78]

i think in the schools from elem age kids need to be taught a freakin humanity class morals something i know people say u cant teah that due to religous or whatever retarded reasons this about humanity how to treat people animals etc obviously nothing else is working but if its embedded in kids when there young i think they ll have less of these incidents should be taught all thru educational years. and if parents have a problem with it then maybe they should do a better job of raising there children. it s out of control.

[comesur]

i am outraged by this incident. i would like to know if Richmond High has had community discussions on these issues. Communities need to be involved in the schools. We keep making excuses of why we can not put a stop to these violent crimes. Parents it is your responsiblity to teach our children right from wrong. Why are our children thinking that this is okay and that they can get away with it? There is no remorse or responsiblity being taken for their actions. I hope this incident will be the start of tougher laws of how we deal with these children. How we treat each other is important and obviously many children are not being taught this otherwise they wouldn't be acting like animals.

[robotgir]

Tougher laws on children.

How about prevention and potentially tougher laws on all individuals who perpetrate such a violent crime?

Yes, these teenagers need to be held accountable for their actions. But this also plays into a larger system issue, and the notion of rape culture.

The only true solution is to prevent events like these from occurring. Education is a good first step. Consequences for actions is also important.

[Sirlexus8]

this is why i cant understand why anyone would vote for pelosi or her kind. the taxes in san fran, are so high, so much so that they installed new artificial turf on the playing field, instead of spending the money on protecting the children. always all show and no substance, and promoted as for social betterment. wake up people, those who try to tell you that we are doing things to make it better for you, are really only in it to make it better for themselves. i would love to know how much money this school system is plowing through to have these kids raped, beaten, robbed and murdered on a daily basis. sickening.

[democracy1]

It's also sickening that you would use this story as a springboard for a political rant..

[justsane-2009]

"Richmond High School has a 69 percent truancy rate and is in a school district that had 19 student murders last year. Fights at Richmond have been posted on YouTube, and a van was set on fire on the football field's new artificial turf. An investigation by CBS station KPIX-TV last year found only a handful of the 16 security cameras in the school were working.

On Friday, there were four Richmond police officers on duty at the dance, but the security guards patrolling the grounds were released at 9 p.m., a half-hour before the victim left the dance. "

so many questions here:

69% truancy and 19 student murders just last year? and nobody thinks that having ALL the security cameras working would be a good idea?

the security guards patrolling the grounds were released BEFORE the dance was over? what was the point of having them there at all, if they weren't going to be there until at least 30 minutes AFTER the dance was over?

were those four police officers mentioned inside the dance, or are they the security officers that patrolled the grounds and left early?

why is this school even open? what is the point?