What happened in Richmond

Here, in an Oakland Tribune story dated October 28 and updated October 30. is the first full account I’ve seen of the Richmond, California high school gang rape. On the same page are videos that must be seen. One shows a rally where two left-wing females speak in the familiar, patented tone of left-wing outrage about the injustices of America, the specific injustice being that the media present degraded images of women, and that’s why this gang rape happened. Meaning, it’s society that has done this. Meaning it’s white society that has done this. Given the ability of liberalism instantly to translate every horror produced by liberalism into a further condemnation of the oppressive white power structure and thus an argument for more liberalism, it is an open question whether any disaster can turn liberal society from its suicidal course.

Also, at least one of the suspects, Marcelles Peter, is black, as his aunt, Monica Peter, a black women, was talking about her nephew outside the Contra Costa Court House where he is being held.

The article contains no reference to the fact that this was a gang rape of a girl who all indications suggest was a white girl by a gang of Hispanics and blacks I haven’t seen the slightest hint in the MSM that this attack had a racial dimension. Has anyone?

Here is the article:

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—ages 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 convicted, 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 danced 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

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 a group of teens and young adults hanging out and drinking in the poorly lit courtyard.

The victim drank a large amount of brandy in a short period 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 young 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 911.

“That could easily have been their sister, their mom,” said Atianna Gibbs, one of a group of friends and recent Richmond High graduates who reported the attack. “Nobody deserves that.”

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 is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible.

The victim was released from the hospital Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.

“Recovery is difficult—period,” said Marcia Blackstock, director of Bay Area Women Against Rape. “Your mind runs you through every scenario. It’s a common thing. What did I do? What happened? You create things in your mind that are just more battles than you necessarily need to wage with yourself, but it happens.”

While the victim rested, public dialogue about the crime and its origins raged in Richmond and across the country. Students held a rally in support of the victim at El Cerrito High, while dozens of students and teachers gathered outside Richmond High School on Wednesday afternoon, large signs hanging on the walls behind them: “What about the good things?” and “Richmond cares!”

West Contra Costa school board’s safety subcommittee hosted a meeting Wednesday night in the high school auditorium, where about 100 community members vented over the rape, particularly focusing on the lack of security cameras and fencing around the campus. The district has drawn fire over the on-campus assault and its perceived sluggishness to add long-promised safety features to Richmond High.

One neighborhood group offered to patrol the campus and surrounding neighborhood and another offered to teach a rape crisis class to students. Both items were forwarded to next week’s full school board meeting. In addition, the district planned to appeal to the state to expedite fence construction around the school and hoped to finalize a security camera bid.

“We’re not animals. We’re not savages. We’re students and we’re trying to achieve,” Richmond High student Maritza Morales told the audience. “People look at us very different now.”

The mood was similar earlier Wednesday.

“I’m devastated” about the rape, Richmond High senior Norma Bautista said. “We are not criminals. We are the future leaders. We are going to make a change. Everything they say about us—that we’re animals, that we’re not a community—we are a community. Why are they focusing on the negativity?”

Teacher Lorna McCllelan said the city and the school are being “portrayed as a community that doesn’t care about violence. Our community recognizes that this is a problem, and we are taking steps to address it. My students are not criminals. They are amazing individuals who overcome impossible challenges.”


Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 30, 2009 01:45 PM | Send
    

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