Five arrested in alleged gang rape

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7th person arrested in gang rape

November 3, 2009

(CNN) -- A seventh person has been arrested in a gang rape on a high school campus in northern California, police said Tuesday.

Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan did not identify the suspect. Of those arrested so far, one was released for lack of evidence.

Police say as many as 10 people were involved in the rape October 24 in a dimly lit alley outside Richmond High School, where a homecoming dance was taking place.

Another 10 people watched the attack without calling 911, police say.

Authorities say the attack lasted for more than two hours. The victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and was released Wednesday.

Read local coverage of story from CNN affiliate KTVU

The victim's parents issued a statement that urged those in the community to work to ensure that such an attack never happens again.
"If you need to express your outrage, please channel your anger through positive action," they said, according to the Rev. Jim Wheeler, who said he was the family's pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Richmond.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/03/...ape/index.html

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Posted: 9:58 pm PST November 4, 2009Updated: 3:14 pm PST November 5, 2009


RICHMOND, Calif. -- A former Richmond High student told a police 911dispatcher that people had seen a naked teenage girl lying on the ground outside the school’s homecoming dance, but chosen not to call police.

Margarita Vargas, who identified herself as Maggie on the call reporting the alleged gang rape of a 15-year-old freshman, said friends had told her about the girl, but that she was afraid to go look for herself.

“We haven’t seen her, we heard that from two of our friends,” she told the dispatcher in the minute-long call released by police Thursday. “We didn’t want to go back there because we were scared.”

Vargas appeared on camera for the first time Wednesday to describe her reaction to the attack and how she felt when she called authorities.

"I was shocked because I really couldn't believe it," explained Vargas.

She described the area of the sprawling 200,000 square foot campus where the attack took place as “deserted.”

Vargas said that on the night of the attack, a family member heard three males bragging about the hours-long gang rape. Feelings of empathy with the victim led her to call police.

"I wouldn't want anybody to hurt me and get away with it, or people to know about it and not do anything about it," she said.

Despite the prevalence of a “no-snitching” culture, the young mother immediately dialed 911.

"You know I have feelings,” said Vargas. “I wouldn't want that girl to die or anything. I feel like if it weren't for me, she would have been dead."

When police arrived they found the young victim semi-conscious, naked and curled up under a picnic table.

The uproar over the attack has pushed administrators into establishing new safety improvements to secure the Richmond High School campus.

Everything from installing additional lighting to expanding anti-violence programs to bringing in neighborhood volunteers to patrol campuses were given the green light at a West Contra Costa County School Board meeting Wednesday night.

The board is moving with urgency after coming under fire for not taking action in the past.

New, brighter lights were being installed Wednesday night at the high school in and around the area where a 15-year-old girl was raped, beaten and robbed by as many as 10 young men while a crowd of up to 20 bystanders watched the attack happen.

Students and school officials agree the narrow alley that a few picnic tables, dumpsters, and vehicles all share, has been dimly lit for far too long.

Since the attack, the school board administrators of a billion dollar bond program have been accused of moving slowly on a new surveillance system and fence at the school.

"We have $1.2 million to do this project now; we had $1.2 million five months ago and 12 months ago, because the taxpayers gave you that money," said El Sobrante resident Robert Brower.

Wednesday night, the board finally awarded the contract for 120 digital cameras at Richmond High to be monitored by police.

"The security cameras that we have will be linked to the city of Richmond and the city of San Pablo so that they'll be effective," said WCCUSD trustee Charles Ramsey.

Ramsey said the cameras should be up and running within three months with construction on a new fence beginning within 30 days.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/21527091/detail.html

Related:

http://www.ktvu.com/video/21534554/index.html
RICHMOND: Listen To 911 Call Reporting The Alleged Homecoming Gang Rape

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The Associated Press
Posted: 11/06/2009 02:42:14 PM PST
Updated: 11/06/2009 02:42:15 PM PST

RICHMOND, Calif.—A sixth suspect has been charged in the gang rape of 16-year-old girl outside Richmond High School's homecoming dance.

Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan says 21-year-old Elvis Torrentes was charged Thursday with rape by a foreign object of a person unable to resist due to intoxication, rape by a foreign object while acting in concert and rape while acting in concert.

Police say Torrentes was one of as many as 10 people who participated in the Oct. 24 attack on the girl in a dimly lit courtyard on campus. The victim was found naked and semi-conscious after the nearly two-hour assault.

Investigators believe as many as 20 people may have watched the rape without calling police.

Contra Costa County prosecutors have filed rape charges against five others, ranging in age from 15 to 21.

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13731054

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By Malaika Fraley
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 11/06/2009 04:47:48 PM PST
Updated: 11/06/2009 04:50:45 PM PST

MARTINEZ — Charges for a Richmond man connected to the gang rape of a Richmond High School student outside a homecoming dance indicate his alleged involvement differed from five other defendants facing stiffer punishment, though prosecutors are not saying how.

Elvis Josue Torrentes, 21, was charged Thursday with sexual penetration of an incapable person, rape by a foreign object in concert and forcible rape in concert — punishable by up to 26 years in prison.

His five co-defendants, however, are facing life in prison, each charged with a special charge enhancement that alleges they "personally" and physically committed the assault. Prosecutors will not discuss the facts of the case or each defendants' alleged role in the rape, citing the ongoing investigation.

Pinole resident Marcelles Peter, 17, and San Pablo residents Cody Ray Smith, 15, and Ari Morales, 16, are each charged with rape by a foreign object in concert and an enhancement of personally committing sexual penetration by force. Morales is also charged with second-degree robbery.

Manuel Ortega, 19, of Richmond, is charged with second-degree robbery causing great bodily injury, assault causing great bodily injury, rape in concert, and an enhancement for personally inflicting great bodily injury.

Jose Carlos Montano, 18, of Richmond, is charged with rape in concert, rape by a foreign object in concert, and two charge enhancements for personally committing rape and personally committing sexual penetration by force.

Prosecutors said the brutality of the crime lead them to charge the juvenile suspects as adults.

The 16-year-old victim was hospitalized for several days after, police said, numerous men and boys raped her — while others watched — in a dark courtyard at Richmond High School during a homecoming dance Oct. 24. The girl was assaulted for two hours before word of the assault reached a young woman in the neighborhood who called 911.

All six defendants are due back in court on Tuesday. Only one, Smith, has so far entered a plea — not guilty.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news...nclick_check=1

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Updated at 07:31 PM today

By Cecilia Vega

RICHMOND, CA (KGO) -- He was at first arrested, then released for lack of evidence, now Salvador Rodriguez says he was the only one who tried to help the 16-year-old Richmond High School student who was gang raped outside her homecoming dance.

"She was by herself, she was naked and I tried to help her and I reached for her and she started screaming and I said, 'Hey, I don't want to hurt you, I just want to help, that's all I want to do is just help you,'" Rodriguez said. "So she stopped screaming, it's as if she knew, you know, I wasn't trying to do nothing and then I grabbed my t-shirt and covered her up with it."

Speaking publicly for the first time, the 21-year-old said he was skateboarding outside Richmond High the night of the dance. He saw that a group had formed on a poorly lit section of campus; what he saw when he got there was horrific.

"They were kicking her in her head and they were beating her up, robbing her and ripping her clothes off; it's something you can't get out your mind," Rodriguez said.

Police say the rape went on for 2.5 hours and that as many as 10 people may have participated while 20 others watched and did nothing.

"I saw people, like, dehumanizing her; I saw some pretty crazy stuff," Rodriguez said.

ABC7 spoke to another witness to the rape. He was summoned over by another bystander watching the attack.

"She was pretty quiet; I thought she was like dead for a minute but then I saw her moving around, I was like, 'Oh,'" the 16-year-old witness said.

He says he never called police because he did not have a cell phone, and he was scared.

"I really wanted to help her but I don't know, I just didn't," he said.

He watched for 15-20 minutes. Not even his family knows he was there.

"I feel like I could have done something but I don't feel like I have any responsibility for anything that happened," he said.

Rodriquez says he knew at least one of the attackers and tried to stop the group from taking pictures of the victim on their cell phone.

"I just see like everybody going crazy and messing with her and I was like, 'Hey man, calm down, leave her alone, that's a little girl,' you don't do nothing like that,' cuz I got two 15-year-old sisters myself," Rodriquez said.

He wishes he could have done more, but now he fears being labeled as a snitch. He is friends with one of the suspects in custody.

"People say, 'Why didn't I call the cops,' but at the same time, I live in Richmond, a neighborhood like this, snitching is something you don't do, you know, I mean I have to walk down the streets now in fear of my life," Rodriquez said.

Police are still awaiting results from DNA evidence taken from the crime scene. If there is a match, Rodriquez could be rearrested.

The six people who have been charged in the homecoming assault appeared in court again Tuesday. They did not enter pleas, but they remain in custody, and could be sent to prison for life if convicted. Three of those in custody are juveniles being charged as adults.

The witnesses who watched but did nothing cannot be charged with a crime because California law states that the girl would have had to be 14 years old for it to be a crime.

A fund has been specifically set up to benefit the young woman and her family. Parties may send a check to Richmond High School, 1250 23rd St., Richmond , CA 94804. Checks should be made out to "Richmond High School Student Fund" with "Sex assault victim" on the memo line.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?sec...=7111732&tsp=1

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Five of the six defendants face charges calling for life in prison.

By Malaika Fraley
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 12/01/2009 10:40:44 AM PST
Updated: 12/01/2009 01:37:50 PM PST

RICHMOND — Six people charged with gang raping a 16-year-old girl outside Richmond High School's homecoming dance Oct. 24 pleaded not guilty in a packed courtroom Tuesday.

The suspects, including three juveniles charged as adults, remain jailed on high or no bail and are scheduled to return to court Jan. 21 to set a preliminary hearing date.

Participating in the two-hour sexual assault in a dark courtyard on campus, authorities say, were Cody Ray Smith, 15, of San Pablo; Ari Morales, 16, of San Pablo; Marcelles Peter, 17, of Pinole; Jose Carlos Montano, 18, of Richmond; Manuel Ortega, 19, of Richmond; and Elvis Josue Torrentes, 21, of Richmond.

Several other people witnessed the rape but made no effort to call police or help the victim, police say. A young Richmond woman, at home a few blocks away from campus, finally reported the attack when her boyfriend relayed what he had heard from passers-by.

All the defendants except Torrentes face charges that call for life in prison because of a special allegation that they physically participated in the rape. Torrentes' charges call for up to 26 years in prison.

Richmond police have said they believe all the main participants are in custody; friends and family members of several of the suspects have told Bay Area News Group that their loved one has been wrongly accused.

"I just don't think all of them did that," said Shyan Mason, a 23-year-old Hercules resident and 2005 Richmond High School graduate who was among Tuesday's court spectators; she said she doesn't know any of the defendants personally. "I can't believe that happened at Richmond High School — it's a good school."

The defendants waived their right to have a preliminary hearing within 10 or 60 days. Senior deputy district attorney Dara Cashman said it likely will be several months before a preliminary hearing, given the large amount of evidence that police are offering in the case.

Last month, Cashman gave each defense attorney 685 pages of documents and 28 DVDs containing evidence. She said the complicated nature of the case makes the possibility of bringing it to a grand jury unlikely.

Cashman said whether the victim in the case would testify at the preliminary hearing is a "decision that would happen down the line." The prosecution has the option to use hearsay testimony in place of the victim's at a preliminary hearing under California's Proposition 115, also known as the Crime Victims Justice Reform Act, passed by state voters in 1990.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_13900693

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

RICHMOND, CA (KGO) -- A key witness to the gang rape of a 16-year-old Richmond High School student has suddenly gone missing. Salvador Rodriguez was originally a suspect, but now police want him on the witness stand.

Richmond police are calling this a "missing persons case." It has been three weeks since anyone has seen or heard from Rodriguez and his family says it is very unsual for this amount of time to pass without him contacting them. It is not just his family worrying about his whereabouts. The police also have their concerns.

"We are concerned for his safety because he was a witness in this case," Sgt. Bisa French said Tuesday. "Family members don't know where he is and he has stayed at various locations in the past, but he's always kept in contact with his family."

21-year-old Rodriguez sought out ABC7 in November to tell his story. He said he was skateboarding outside the high school the night of the dance. He said he saw some friends, went over to a poorly-lit section of campus where a group had formed, and witnessed the attack.

He says he tried to help the victim whom police say was raped by six young men while dozens more stood by and watched. Authorities say they cannot verify Rodriguez's claim that he helped the girl. He said the night ruined his life.

"I was scared. People say why didn't I call the cops but at the same time. I live in Richmond," he told ABC7 in November. "A neighborhood like this, snitching is something you don't do, you know? I mean, I have to walk down the streets now in fear of my life."

According to a missing person's report, Rodriguez's family believes one of the suspects in custody ordered someone to go after Rodriguez in retaliation for cooperating with the investigation. His sister is now scared for her own safety. She says Rodriguez was asked to testify, but that he is reluctant to take the stand.

"Once that goes around that he's a snitch, people get mad and then just try to do stupid things," she told ABC7.

She fears the worst.

"We get scared," she said trembling. "We called everybody he was with. Nobody's seen him. So..."

Rodriquez is known to be a drifter. At the time of his November interview with ABC7, he was living on various friends' couches. As more time passes his family's concern grows, but they hope this is still the case and that he is staying with friends.

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Salvador Rodriguez is asked to contact the Richmond Police Department.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?sec...=7184648&tsp=1

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By Karl Fischer
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 12/23/2009 07:44:49 AM PST
Updated: 12/23/2009 11:57:17 AM PST

Salvador Rodriguez, a former suspect in the gang rape of of a Richmond teen who was released,...





Salvador Rodriguez faithfully called his mother throughout the Richmond High School gang-rape investigation, and again throughout the ensuing media circus during which he tried to clear his name.

But the phone stopped ringing four weeks ago. And its silence fills Stephanie Gutierrez with dread.

"I think something has happened to him," Gutierrez said Wednesday. "We are all so worried."

Richmond police likewise cannot find the onetime suspect turned key witness in the Oct. 24 assault of a 16-year-old girl outside the school's homecoming dance, confirming Wednesday that the family filed a missing-person report Dec. 16, and nobody seems to know his whereabouts.

"We have found no verifiable threat against
him," said Detective Sgt. Lori Curran, supervisor in charge of the rape investigation. "He has not turned up, and we're not sure what has happened."

Six suspects, ranging in age from 15 to 21, await court proceedings on charges they beat, robbed and raped the girl after plying her with alcohol in an isolated courtyard across campus from the dance. Prosecutors say the brutality of the assault led them to charge them all as adults; if convicted of all charges, five of the six could face life in prison.

Rodriguez, 21, originally stood among the accused. Detectives arrested him as a suspect in the days following the rape, but police later released him after the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office declined to file charges for lack of evidence.

As the case garnered national media attention, Rodriguez stepped forward in November and told KGO-Channel 7 that he witnessed the aftermath of the assault and tried to help the victim, but that some of those accused roughly ordered him away when he refused to participate.
"Nope, I did not rape her, " Rodriguez said Nov. 10. "I did not beat her. I did not rob her. I did not rape her. I was trying to help her. That's all I want people to know."

Detectives since confirmed that Rodriguez possessed information valuable to the investigation and would likely testify in court.

His absence could affect the case. Of that, his mother is acutely aware.

"The last time anyone has spoken to him or seen him was December 7," said Gutierrez, who lives in Arizona. "He said he was getting a lot of threats on his life."

He also chafed at repeated run-ins with police keeping an eye on him and pulling him in for interviews after his release, she said. But Gutierrez believes that her only son would keep in contact with her, even if he decided to hide from the law.

One of his six sisters called KGO-Channel 7 this week, asking for help finding him.

"We want him to know that we love him, and that we're really worried about him," Gutierrez said. "If you can, please call."

Rodriguez said publicly that he saw his former roommate, 19-year-old Manuel Ortega, in the group involved in the attack. Prosecutors have charged Ortega in the case.

"People say, 'Why didn't you call the police?'" Rodriguez said in November. "But at the same time, I live in Richmond."

Fear of retaliation against witnesses frequently obstructs investigation and prosecution of crime in the city.

The suspects all remained in custody this week, awaiting pretrial hearings: Cody Ray Smith, 15, of San Pablo; Ari Morales, 16, of San Pablo; Marcelles Peter, 17, of Pinole; Jose Carlos Montano, 18, of Richmond; Ortega, a Richmond resident; and Elvis Josue Torrentes, 21, of Richmond.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/top-stories/ci_14055946

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By Karl Fischer
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 01/15/2010 02:31:04 PM PST
Updated: 01/15/2010 02:54:03 PM PST

A 43-year-old ex-con participated in the gang-rape of a Richmond High School student during the campus homecoming dance last fall, police said Friday during a public plea for help finding him.

Six other suspects remain in custody, charged with numerous felonies in connection with the robbery, beating and hours-long sexual assault of the 16-year-old victim in an isolated campus courtyard Oct. 24.

Those suspects range in age from 15 to 21. John Crane's connection, meanwhile, remains unclear to investigators.

"We have found no connection between him and the victim, or the other suspects," Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan said.

Police would not discuss the nature of the evidence placing Crane at the crime scene. They sought him for several weeks before seeking the public's help. He has a $100,000 warrant for his arrest on suspicion of rape.

"Because of the nature of the crime, and because of his prior convictions, we believe Crane is armed and dangerous and we ask that nobody try to interact with him on their own," Gagan said. "If you see him, please call 911."

The other suspects pleaded not guilty to all charges in December: Cody Ray Smith, 15, of San Pablo; Ari Morales, 16, of San Pablo; Marcelles Peter, 17, of Pinole; Jose Carlos Montano, 18, of Richmond; Manuel Ortega, 19, of Richmond; and Elvis Josue Torrentes, 21, of Richmond.

The suspects, including three juveniles charged as adults, remain jailed on high or no bail and are scheduled to return to court Jan. 21 to set a preliminary hearing date.

The victim left her school dance about 9:30 p.m. and accepted a classmate's invitation to hang out in a dark courtyard on the other side of campus where young people were drinking.

She joined them and swiftly became incapacitated. Afterward, police say several of her male companions beat her, stripped her, robbed her of her jewelry and other belongings and repeatedly raped her.

The attack lasted about two hours, with different people joining in, and many more watching, or even egging on the attackers.

Nobody called for help until nearly midnight, when a neighbor a few blocks away from campus heard about the attack.

All the defendants except Torrentes face charges that call for life in prison because of a special allegation that they physically participated in the rape. Torrentes' charges call for up to 26 years in prison.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14201259

[Bailey]

Posted: 4:42 pm PST January 21, 2010

RICHMOND, Calif. -- Prosecutors charged a seventh suspect Thursday in connection with the Oct. 24 gang rape of a 16-year-old girl outside Richmond High School's homecoming dance, Deputy District Attorney Dara Cashman said.

John Crane Jr., a 43-year-old Richmond resident, was charged with rape in concert and the special allegation that he personally penetrated the victim, an allegation that makes him eligible for a life sentence, Cashman said.

Crane, who turned himself in to police Tuesday night, was scheduled to be arraigned on the charges in Contra Costa County Superior Court in Richmond this afternoon, but the arraignment was delayed because of a transportation mix-up.

He is scheduled to be in court Friday morning instead, Cashman said.

The other six defendants were in court Thursday to set a date for a preliminary hearing, but that was postponed because the district attorney's office is still waiting for the results from forensic tests to be processed.

Those suspects include San Pablo residents Cody Smith, 15, and Ari Morales, 16; Pinole resident Marcelles Peter, 17; and Richmond residents Manuel Ortega, 19, Jose Montano, 18, and Elvis Torrentes, 21.

According to police, as many as 10 people robbed, beat and raped the victim for two and a half hours in a secluded area of the campus beginning at about 9:30 p.m. while as many as a dozen others stood by and watched.

The three juveniles have been charged as adults with rape by a foreign object while acting in concert. Morales has also been charged with robbery, according to the criminal complaint.

Ortega has been charged with forcible rape while acting in concert, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, and robbery, according to the complaint.

Montano has been charged with forcible rape while acting in concert and rape by a foreign object while acting in concert.

Torrentes has been charged with rape by a foreign object of a person unable to resist due to intoxication, rape by a foreign object while acting in concert and rape while acting in concert, Cashman said.

All of the defendants except for Torrentes also face enhancements that make them eligible for a life sentence, Cashman said. Torrentes was not charged with the enhancement because the charges against him don't include allegations that he personally penetrated the victim.

Everybody but Crane has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The group is scheduled to return to court Feb. 25 to set a date for a preliminary hearing.

While Cashman declined to comment on specifics of the case, she said that so far some of the suspects have been identified by DNA evidence.

She said she didn't know how Crane, who is significantly older than the other defendants, knew the group, but she believes that he personally raped the victim.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/22308213/detail.html

[Bailey]

By Malaika Fraley
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 02/03/2010 11:25:50 AM PST
Updated: 02/03/2010 02:05:09 PM PST

RICHMOND — A Richmond man today pleaded not guilty to charges that he was among seven men and boys who gang raped a teenage girl outside Richmond High School's homecoming dance in October.

John Crane, 43, pleaded not guilty to forcible rape in concert and a special allegation that makes him eligible for life in prison if convicted.

Richmond police say Crane and six other males between 15 and 21 participated in the Oct. 24 campus attack in which the 16-year-old victim was beat, robbed and sexually assaulted for hours.

All of the defendants remain jailed and return to court later this month to set a preliminary hearing date.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14325694