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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 white female student of Richmond High School was raped repeatedly by a group of young males of different races 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, but for more than two hours no one notified police. This has suggested parallels with the famous case of Kitty Genovese, who was raped and murdered in an hour-long attack despite the presence of many bystanders who declined to get involved.

Details

After the homecoming dance at about 9:30 p.m. (UTC-7), a classmate invited the victim to join a group of males, ranging in ages from 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 refused, then some of the attackers placed her on a nearby cement bench and continuously for 2½ hours raped her, at times with a foreign object, and beat her. A local resident heard of the attack from her boyfriend and immediately contacted police. The girl was found unconscious under a picnic table and was air-lifted to a hospital in critical condition. 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 phones, but local police have not been able to obtain the recordings. At least 10 people watched the assault without calling 911 to report it.

Arrests

As of November 3, seven male suspects had been arrested in connection with the case. One of the initial suspects was subsequently released without charge due to lack of evidence. This initial suspect has since claimed that he was merely a witness present at the scene, and that his intent was to help the victim including offering her his shirt. However, he said that he did not contact authorities because he lacked a cell phone and was afraid of retaliation for "snitching", and disappeared from the area on December 7, 2009. The remaining suspects range 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 they expect all three juvenile defendants to be charged as adults. All six suspects entered not guilty pleas on Tuesday, December 1.

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.

Over 500 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." 200 people marched from Richmond High School to a nearby park and held a rally on November 7 to show support for the victim.

The attack garnered nationwide attention as the most popular blog topic of the week of 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. The website supportjanedoe.org was created by Hannah Kenny in order to support the victim and discuss solutions of sexual assault violence on women. The site has 3,800 registered users worldwide.

The girl's parents made their first public statement on November 1:

Please do not respond to this tragic event by promoting hatred or by causing more pain. We have had enough violence already in this place. If you need to express your outrage, please channel your anger into positive action. Volunteer at a school. Go help a neighbor. Be courageous in speaking the truth and in holding people accountable. Work toward changing the atmosphere in our schools and in this community so that this kind of thing never happens again.

In response to the events, California State Senator Leland Yee suggested legislation which would toughen the criteria about when failure to report a crime constitutes a criminal offense. Under Yee's proposal, bystanders to crimes against minors would be liable for failure to report. The 18-year-old woman who was the only one to report the girl's attack to 911 was honored by the Richmond City Council on November 17.

References

1. ^ Johnson, Chip (October 30, 2009). "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)
2. ^ "Police: As many as 20 present at gang rape outside school dance". CNN. October 28, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
3. Van Derbeken, Jaxon (November 6, 2009). "Richmond rape victim feels betrayed by attacker". San Francisco Chronicle. p. C-1. Retrieved November 7, 2009. The victim previously had been reported to be 15 years old.
4. ^ Banks, Sandy (November 07, 2009). "Finding a deeper lesson in high school gang rape". LA Times. p. 2. Retrieved May 22, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
5. ^ Fagan, Kevin (November 1, 2009). "Richmond gang rape seen as nearly inevitable". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 1, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
6. Vega, Cecilia (October 28, 2009). "5 arrested in rape of girl in Richmond". KGO. Retrieved October 28, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
7. ^ Chen, Stephanie (October 30, 2009). "Gang rape raises questions about bystanders' role". CNN. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
8. Grewal, Daisy (November 2, 2009). "Richmond rape case illustrates bystander effect". The Monterey County Herald. Retrieved November 7, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
9. Fischer, Karl (November 1, 2009). "No parents at Richmond dance where girl raped". San Jose Mercury. Retrieved November 3, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
10. "Police: Girl Raped At Richmond High". KCRA. October 26, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
11. Collins, Terry (November 3, 2009). "School moves to tighten security after gang rape". Associated Press. Retrieved November 3, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
12. Lee, Henry K. (November 3, 2009). "Another gang-rape suspect arrested". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 3, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
13. ^ Fischer, Karl; Malaika Fraley (November 10, 2009). "'I thought she was dead for a minute,' Richmond gang-rape witness reports". Contra Costa Times. Retrieved November 11, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
14. ^ Vega, Cecilia (November 10, 2009). "Richmond rape witness describes the assault". KGO-TV. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
15. Bulwa, Demian (Wednesday, December 23, 2009). "Witness in Richmond gang rape case vanishes". San Francisco Chronicle. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. Martinez, Edecio (November 4, 2009). "Richmond High School Gang-Rape Victim Speaks Out for First Time". CNN. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
17. "Victim Of Gang Rape Releases First Public Statement". KTVU. November 3, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
18. Basu, Moni (October 30, 2009). "Friend of gang rape victim blasts school officials over safety". CNN. Retrieved November 1, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
19. Frailey, Malaika (October 31, 2009). "One more held, one cleared in rape of Richmond teen girl". San Jose Mercury. Retrieved November 1, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
20. Friedman, Emily (October 29, 2009). "One more held, one cleared in rape of Richmond teen girl". ABC News. Retrieved November 1, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
21. Simon, Dan (December 1, 2009). "6 suspects in high school gang rape enter not guilty pleas". CNN. Retrieved December 1, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
22. ^ Fagan, Kevin (November 4, 2009). "Violence always the wrong choice". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 5, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
23. King, John (November 7, 2009). "Richmond march and rally supports rape victim". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 7, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
24. "Bloggers Express Outrage Over Assault". PewResearchCenter Publications. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
25. Fagan, Kevin (November 25, 2009). "Thousands worldwide voice support for raped girl". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
26. Gafni, Matthias (November 1, 2009). "Family of Richmond rape victim speaks out for first time". San Jose Mercury. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
27. Lobertini, John (November 8, 2009). "Lawmaker Supports Tougher Crime Reporting Law". KTXL. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
28. Bloom, Anna (November 17, 2009). "Richmond to Honor Teen Who Called Police in Gang Rape". New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

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

• 2009 crimes
• Rape in the United States
• Crime in California