Community :: Richmond High Rallies Against Violence 11/3/09
By Karl Fischer
West County Times
Posted: 11/03/2009 05:03:30 PM PST
Updated: 11/03/2009 05:40:30 PM PST
They care.
That's what the youth tried to convey Tuesday afternoon on Richmond High's football field.
A band played, students read poetry, dancers performed. The lineup of speakers for a vigil supporting the 15-year-old raped on campus two weekends ago featured a platoon of elected officials and nonprofit directors, even a statement from the victim read aloud.
"Violence is always a wrong choice. We realize people are angry about this, but let the anger cause change; that is necessary to keep our children, our neighbors and our friends safe," DeAnna Schlau, an advocate for Community Violence Solutions, read from the victim's statement. "We thank you for your love and support, and your ongoing prayers."
And the 200 to 300 students in attendance did little talking, at least in front of the microphones. But Richmond High was talking.
"It's beautiful to see the community come together," Richmond High senior Abel Pineda said. The attack "has brought attention to a serious issue. We want to take this opportunity to take action, and do something about it."
Richmond residents, particularly young people, have taken a beating in the court of public opinion following the Oct. 24 attack, for which five suspects are charged.
The victim got drunk in a dark campus courtyard with a group of other young people, while the homecoming dance played on in the gym, and after she fell semiconscious, her companions beat, robbed and gang-raped her repeatedly for about two hours.
That onlookers watched and did nothing, even laughed and joked around during the attack, shook the nation and provoked outrage and criticism from all corners. Strangers pointed the finger at Richmond kids, calling them immoral and likening them to animals — that just from e-mails received by Richmond High during the first days after the attack.
Few mentioned that a group of young people, some of them Richmond High students, called 911 to help the victim as soon as they learned of the attack.
"I want to state to everyone here, and everyone outside of Richmond ... we are Richmond!" Mayor Gayle McLaughlin told the crowd. "This is the community coming together. This is our community."
Those attending Tuesday's rally included Principal Julio Franco, Contra Costa Supervisor John Gioia, West Contra Costa school district Superintendent Bruce Harter and school board members Antonio Medrano and Tony Thurmond.
McLaughlin later was to preside over the Richmond City Council meeting, during which the Police Department was expected to deliver a report about sexual assault around school campuses in the city that showed it a rare event. There were rapes a few blocks from the Kennedy and Gompers campuses in 2008 — both unrelated to the school or school activities, though one victim was a student.
Police say a 17-year-old went to Juvenile Hall in October 2008 from De Anza High School in connection with the rape of a 15-year-old girl on campus, during school hours. City police have investigated 33 rapes in 2009, compared with 37 in all of 2008 and 31 in all of 2007.
Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/kfischer510.
How to help
Donations for the Richmond High School rape victim may be sent to: Richmond High Jane Doe, account number 041-30-1188, Mechanics Bank, 3170 Hilltop Mall Road, Richmond, CA 94806.
School Moves To Tighten Security After Gang Rape
By TERRY COLLINS (AP) 11/3/09
RICHMOND, Calif. — Officials at a high school where a student was gang-raped in a courtyard are moving to tighten campus security with the long-stalled purchase of surveillance cameras, powerful lighting and new fencing.
The measures were disclosed as community leaders sought ways to calm outrage over the Oct. 24 attack at Richmond High School that police said may have involved as many as 10 suspects and 20 onlookers who failed to call police.
"Obviously, there wasn't enough security or we wouldn't have had this tragedy happen," said Bruce Harter, superintendent of the West Contra Costa School District.
Administrators have long pushed for the new measures but couldn't find the money until now, Harter said.
A seventh suspect was arrested Tuesday in the attack on the 15-year-old girl after she left a homecoming dance in the industrial enclave near the San Francisco Bay known as one of the nation's most dangerous cities.
At a rally and candlelight vigil later Tuesday, DeAnna Schlau with the nonprofit Community Violence Solutions read a statement she said was prepared by the victim.
"Violence is a wrong choice. We realize people are angry about this, but let that anger cause change; change that is necessary to keep our children, our neighbors and our friends safe. We thank everyone for their love, support and ongoing prayers," Schlau said.
Hundreds attended the event, which featured songs, prayer and dancing.
Ten chaperones, six site supervisors and four police officers were at the school gym to make sure the dance and nearby parking lots were safe. They thought things were going so well that two supervisors were allowed to leave early, Harter said.
The girl was attacked across campus, where a group of males ranging from 15 to the mid-20s were drinking in the dimly lit courtyard. The victim was invited by a classmate to join the group after leaving the dance.
She drank a large amount of alcohol with them before the two-hour assault began, police said. Officers acting on a tip later found her semiconscious near a picnic table.
Charles Johnson, a Richmond High School security specialist, said one of the supervisors at the dance had been keeping an eye on the girl as she waited outside the gym for her father to give her a ride home.
Sammie Lee Hill, a former police officer and a community relations specialist at the school, said the victim is a caring person and easy to get along with.
"We all know she's going through a hell of an ordeal," Hill said. "That's what hurts everybody the most."
Earlier Tuesday, police arrested Elvis Josue Torrentes, 21, of Richmond for investigation of rape, rape in concert with force and other allegations that could lead to life in prison if he is convicted. He was being held on $1.2 million bail.
Prosecutors have filed charges against five other suspects, including 18-year-old Jose Carlos Montano of San Pablo late Monday.
Cody Ray Smith, 15, pleaded not guilty to charges, while Ari Abdallah Morales, 16, Marcelles James Peter, 17, and Manuel Ortega, 19, did not enter pleas during their arraignment as adults in Contra Costa County Superior Court.
Attorney Ernie Castillo, who represents Ortega, did not immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment. It could not be determined if the other suspects had retained lawyers.
Janet Gutierrez, 16, a junior at the school, said the rape has made her concerned about her own safety.
"I'm not scared to be in school," Gutierrez said. "But I'm not going to walk around outside, especially when it's dark."
Community leaders were asking for 100 volunteers to help keep the school safe.
"I pray that we can use this horrific and heinous incident as a teachable moment," said the Rev. Andre Shumake, who made the plea.
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