Friday, November 13, 2009

Four teens charged as adults in gang-rape case

RICHMOND -- Four teenagers face potential life sentences in connection with the gang-rape of a 15-year-old girl outside her homecoming dance at Richmond High School, Contra Costa County prosecutors said Wednesday.
Three minors — 15, 16 and 17 — are each charged with felony rape with a foreign object. The charges all carry an enhancement that they acted in concert, which could make them eligible for life in prison if found true, Deputy District Attorney Dara Cashman said.

The 16-year-old also has been charged with robbery. Cashman charged a fourth suspect, 19-year-old Manuel Ortega, with robbery, assault causing great bodily injury, rape in concert and an enhancement that also makes him eligible for life in prison.

The youths were charged as adults "because this crime speaks to a high degree of callousness and viciousness," said Contra Costa Deputy District Attorney Dan Cabral, head of the office's juvenile division.

Cashman and Richmond police detectives said Wednesday that they expect to make more arrests in the case. A fifth suspect arrested Tuesday night, 21-year-old Salvador Rodriguez, remains in custody but has not been charged.

Police say the suspects all participated in the two-hour assault in a shadowy courtyard while students partied in a gym across campus Saturday night.

Detectives continued searching for more suspects Wednesday. They can only estimate how many participated in the rape — perhaps seven — after the victim fell into a drunken stupor in their company.

Police say the victim left the dance about 9:30 p.m. and walked north on 23rd Street, intending to phone her father for a ride home. But before she did, a classmate called to her from behind a chain-link fence that separates a campus courtyard from the street.

"Her friend called to her, then hopped the fence and escorted her" up Emeric Avenue to a low gate that led into a campus parking lot, Lt. Mark Gagan said.

They joined up with a group of other teens and young adults hanging out and drinking in the poorly lit courtyard.

The victim drank a large amount of brandy in a short amount of time while socializing, police said, then collapsed. Someone dragged her to a bench, where several people stripped her, beat her, stole her jewelry and other belongings, and raped her.

The sexual assault continued for about two hours, detectives estimate, with several men and boys taking part, possibly including some who arrived after the attack began, as word spread.

News of the ongoing rape eventually reached Raul Rubio from passers-by, as he stood on a corner with friends about a block from campus. After verifying the claim, he went to his girlfriend's nearby home, and she called 9-1-1.

Richmond police spent the next four days interviewing dozens of teens and young adults, leading them to the suspects. Detectives have recovered some of the victim's property, including her cell phone, Detective Ken Greco said.

The department offers a $20,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible.

The victim remained hospitalized Wednesday in stable condition, police said.

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