Richmond High School Gang Rape: Sixth Arrest While Three Arraigned in Bulletproof Vests

Richmond Police reportedly arrested a sixth male in connection to the gang rape of the 15-year-old girl outside Richmond High School while a homecoming dance was taking place Saturday night. According to the Contra Costa Times, 18-year-old Jose Carlos Montano was arrested at his home in San Pablo at approximately 5 p.m. Although it was unclear whether or not Montano was a student at Richmond High School, Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan said that the teen had played a "significant" role in the gang rape of the 15-year-old girl.

Gagan said that Richmond Police would request charges of rape, rape in concert with violence, penetration with a foreign object and a special enhancement requesting life in prison. "The charges accurately reflect the severity of the suspect's actions," he said.

Richmond Police found the 15-year-old girl near a picnic table outside the high school after receiving a tip from someone who overheard a teen "reminiscing" about what had happened outside the homecoming dance. The 15-year-old was found semi-conscious, inebriated, and brutalized. She had been gang raped, beaten, and robbed over a two-hour period. Police suspect that at least ten young males were directly involved in the multiple rapes while at least two dozen watched, many laughing and cheering and taking pictures.

Of the five already in police custody, three appeared in court Thursday for arraignment. According to the Associated Press, they arrived in bulletproof vests. Cody Ray Smith, 15, Ari Abdallah Morales, 16, and Marcelles James Peter, 17, were all charged as adults with rape-in-concert and sexual penetration with a foreign object. They were also charged with special circumstances that could make them eligible for a life sentence.

Police spokesperson Jimmy Lee would not elaborate why the teens were wearing bulletproof vests. A prosecutor told the Associated Press that the office was receiving an enormous amount of phone calls and e-mails that were "expressions of outrage from all over the country."

Salvador Rodriguez, 21, has yet to be charged but remains in jail. Manuel Ortega, 19, was arraigned separately and charged with rape, robbery and assault causing great bodily injury.

Richmond Police are actively searching for a number of other individuals that may have been involved in the gang rape. A $20,000 reward has been offered and authorities are hopeful that the offered reward will encourage people to come forward as witnesses.

The 15-year-old gang rape victim was released from the hospital Wednesday, having been treated and hospitalized Saturday night after the attacks.

The gang rape seems to have struck a harsh chord with most Americans. Blogs and editorials have condemned the act and all that were present, including the bystanders, who did nothing but watch, encourage, and sometimes participate. Psychologists and criminologists are suggesting that the acts of all involved, including the onlookers, were the result of fear, desensitization, and the Kitty Genovese Syndrome, which abdicates responsibility in situations because one believes someone else in the group will do something to help or intervene, ensuring that nothing is done.

But public sentiment seems to be running against all that were present at the gang rape, and not only those who directly brutalized and gang raped the young girl. Some are even suggesting prosecutors get creative and find ways to criminally charge those who stood and watched (but laughed, cheered, and took photos, which could constitute aiding and abetting). One suggestion was to charge anyone who took pictures with child pornography, considering that the high school victim was only 15 years old. Because it is the general consensus that those bystanders who stood by and did nothing, not even something as simple as dialing 911, should be held responsible for their inactivity, especially after the first the act of violence.

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Sources:

MSNBC.msn.com
ContraCostaTimes.com