A California high school student who police said was gang raped in
a two-and-a-half-hour assault outside a homecoming dance remained
hospitalized in stable condition Monday, two days after she was flown
from the attack scene in critical condition.
 |
| Gang rape outside school dance lasted over two hours |
As of late Monday, two suspects had been arrested in the case and a third was being questioned.
"There
is one individual in custody who has made some spontaneous statements
that have led me to believe that he is culpable for what happened,"
Richmond police Lt. Johan Simon said.
Nineteen-year-old Manuel
Ortega, described as a former student at the school, was arrested soon
after he fled the scene and will face charges of rape, robbery and
kidnapping, police said.
A 15-year-old was later arrested and
charged with one count of felony sexual assault. A third teenager was
being interviewed, according to Lt. Mark Gagan of the police department
in Richmond, California.
"Based on witness statements and
suspect statements, and also physical evidence, we know that she was
raped by at least four suspects committing multiple sex acts," Gagan
said.
Investigators said as many as 15 people, all males, stood
around watching the assault, but did not call police or help the
victim, a 15-year-old student at Richmond High School in suburban San
Francisco.
"As people announced over time that this was going on, more people came to see, and some actually participated," Gagan said.
Authorities
had interviewed the victim, and the search for other attackers and
bystanders who watched and did not report the rape was in "full-court
press," according to Gagan.
"We have checked Facebook and
YouTube to try to find any revealing evidence," he said. "We're looking
in particular to see if anyone posted any video of the incident."
Several other individuals were detained at the scene but not arrested, Simon said.
The
attack occurred on school grounds as the annual homecoming dance was
under way inside the school Saturday night, authorities said.
The
victim was found unconscious and "brutally assaulted" under a bench
shortly before midnight Saturday, after police received a call from
someone in the area who had overheard people at the assault scene
"reminiscing about the incident," Gagan said.
"She ended up with
those guys under her own will because she knew one of the boys who had
gone to the high school before," Gagan said. "Right now, we're looking
at toxicology reports to determine her blood-alcohol content and to
determine if she was drugged."
According to authorities, the
victim was flown to an area hospital in critical condition. She was in
stable condition Monday, police said.
"This
just gets worse and worse the more you dig into it," Gagan said. "It
was like a horror movie after looking at the evidence. I can't believe
not one person felt compelled to help her.">br>
Comments (0)
Tell friend
Print
