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The 2009 Richmond High School gang rape occurred on Saturday, October 24, 2009, in Richmond, a city on the northeast side of the San Francisco Bay in California, U.S., when a 16-year-old female student of Richmond High School was allegedly raped repeatedly by a group of young males in a courtyard on the school campus while a homecoming dance was being held in the gymnasium. As of November 3, seven arrests have been made in connection with the case, one of the suspects being released on October 29. The incident received national attention, raising awareness of the city of Richmond. As many as 20 witnesses are believed to have been aware of the attack with no one notifying police for more than two hours. This has raised parallels with the famous case of Kitty Genovese who was raped and murdered as the result of an hour-long attack despite the presence of many bystanders who declined to get involved.

Details

Reportedly after the homecoming dance at about 9:30 p.m. (UTC-8), a classmate had invited the victim to join a group of males, ranging in ages of 15 to mid-20s, who were drinking alcohol in a dark courtyard on campus. The girl drank a large amount of brandy and the attackers then proposed sex. The victim reportedly refused, then some of the attackers placed her on a nearby cement bench, where she was allegedly raped, at times with a foreign object, and beaten, continuously for 2½ hours. Local resident Margarita Vargas heard of the attack from her boyfriend, Paul Rubio, and immediately contacted police. The girl was found unconscious under a picnic table and was lifted by air to a hospital. She was released from the hospital on Wednesday, October 28. Witnesses are believed to have recorded video footage of the attack using camera-equipped mobile phone but local police have not been able to obtain the recordings. None of the witnesses called 911 while the alleged assault was in progress.

Arrests

As of November 3, seven suspects had been arrested in connection with the case, although one was subsequently released without charge. The suspects ranged in age from 15 to 21. Police have stated that their investigations are ongoing, and that they are looking for additional people in relation to the crime.

Four of the suspects were arraigned on October 29 in the Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez. One chose to enter a plea of not guilty to the two charges of rape with a foreign object and rape by force, while the others chose not to enter a plea at the time. Authorities have indicated that all three juvenile defendants are expected to be charged as adults.

At least 10 people reportedly watched the assault without calling 911 to report it. A 1999 California law makes it illegal not to report a witnessed crime against a child age 14 or younger; the victim in this case is 16.

Victim

The victim has been described as a 16-year-old honors student in her sophomore year at Richmond High School. A friend and fellow student of the victim who was present at the homecoming dance described her as a churchgoer and struggled to fit in at their high school, but outgoing. She had many close friends who could not attend the dance because the $10 admission fee. The parents of the girl made their first public statement on November 1, advocating peace and asking the public to turn their anger into a more positive manner. Several candlelight vigils at the school and a Pittsburg church were held as a prayer for the girl.

Response

The attack shocked the community and the nation. Local media said that the act "crossed the boundary of civilized behavior."

Any group of young men who could carry out such an attack on a defenseless, intoxicated student are nothing more than a roving pack of vicious animals, and in a civilized society, vicious animals are put down.

— Chip Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

After the attack, local toughs talked of vigilante justice against the attackers and onlookers.

The day following the attack, a reporter with local television station KTVU says that many students at Richmond High School blamed the victim for the rape.. Associates of one of the accused saw racism in the charges, and friends of another verbally attacked those that reported the crime.

Over five hundred students, parents, and area residents held a candle-lit vigil on November 3. At the vigil, the victim's church pastor read a statement from her, stating "We realize people are angry about this", but that "violence is always the wrong choice."

The attack garnered nationwide attention as the most popular blog topic of the week from October 26—30 as bloggers expressed their outrage over the rape. During that week, more than a quarter (26%) of the links from blogs to news sites were to articles about the attack.

Local media said the case illustrated the bystander effect, in which people are less likely to intervene when in the presence of others than when alone.

Four of the accused attackers are Latino, one African American, and one Caucasian; the victim is Caucasian. The local media reported that some were trying to inject race into the dialogue about the rape, but asserted that race was a non-factor.

References

1. Van Derbeken, Jaxon (2009-11-06). "Richmond rape victim feels betrayed by attacker". San Francisco Chronicle. p. C-1. Retrieved 2009-11-07. The victim previously had been reported to be 15 years old.
2. ^ Fagan, Kevin (2009-11-01). "Richmond gang rape seen as nearly inevitable". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-11-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
3. Vega, Cecilia (2009-10-28). "5 arrested in rape of girl in Richmond". KGO. Retrieved 2009-10-28. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
4. ^ Stephanie Chen (2009-10-30). "Gang rape raises questions about bystanders' role". CNN. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
5. ^ Grewal, Daisy. "Richmond rape case illustrates bystander effect".
6. Fischer, Karl (2009-11-01). "No parents at Richmond dance where girl raped". San Jose Mercury. Retrieved 2009-11-03. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
7. ^ "Police: As many as 20 present at gang rape outside school dance". CNN. 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2009-11-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
8. Collins, Terry (2009-11-03). "School moves to tighten security after gang rape". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-11-03. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
9. Lee, Henry K. (2009-11-03). "Another gang-rape suspect arrested". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-11-03. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
10. Martinez, Edecio (2009-11-04). "Richmond High School Gang-Rape Victim Speaks Out for First Time". CNN. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
11. "Victim Of Gang Rape Releases First Public Statement". KTVU. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
12. ^ Basu, Moni (2009-10-30). "Friend of gang rape victim blasts school officials over safety". CNN. Retrieved 2009-11-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
13. Frailey, Malaika (2009-10-31). "One more held, one cleared in rape of Richmond teen girl". San Jose Mercury. Retrieved 2009-11-01. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
14. ^ Friedman, Emily (2009-10-29). "One more held, one cleared in rape of Richmond teen girl". ABC News. Retrieved 2009-11-01. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
15. Gafni, Matthias (2009-11-01). "Family of Richmond rape victim speaks out for first time". San Jose Mercury. Retrieved 2009-11-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
16. Johnson, Chip (2009-10-30). "Primitive attack inspires primal reactions". San Francisco Chronicle. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
17. ^ Fagan, Kevin (2009-11-04). "Violence always the wrong choice". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-11-05. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
18. Walsh, Ed (2009-11-04). "Police in Richmond, California, say gang rape suspects crumbled under interrogation". KTVU.
19. The African-American accused's aunt saw racism in her nephew's arrest:

    He is the one they've arrested who is black, and if they give my nephew a life sentence, I will sue Richmond. There is no way in hell I will see my nephew blamed in this because he is black

    Fagan, Kevin (2009-10-30). "Bulletproof vests for rape suspects in court". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-10-30. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
20. Friends of the Caucasian accused posted messages on his myspace page, now unavailable, demanding his be release from jail, using profanity, all caps and slang, and attacking any "snitches". Both male and female posters expressed the sentiment, with a female declaring "F*** the system f*** the snitchz.free ---- fast.imy." and a male saying

    FREEE MAH NIGGA ---- FAYYYSSTTTT F*** DA SYSTEM F*** DEM SNITCHES

    "Caucasian accused's myspace". Retrieved 2009-11-02.
21. "Bloggers Express Outrage Over Assault". PewResearchCenter Publications. 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2009-11-05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
22. Drummond, Tammerlin (2009-11-01). "What's race got to do with it". Contra Costa Times. Retrieved 2009-11-05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Contra Costa Times coverage of the Richmond High School gang rape

• 2009 crimes
• Rape