Local News

RICHMOND (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― Three more people have been arrested in connection with the gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old Richmond girl outside her high school homecoming dance in an attack that has generated widespread outrage.

A man and two teens were arrested late Tuesday, including 21-year-old Salvador Rodriguez of Richmond, as well as a 16-year-old San Pablo boy and a 17-year-old Pinole boy. They were each booked on one count of gang rape and likely face other charges including robbery and kidnapping.

"These are people who played a significant role in the incident," Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan said Wednesday. "I'm confident that more arrests will be made."

The arrests brought to five the number of people taken into custody in the attack that occurred Saturday night at Richmond High School. The attacks and its aftermath have rattled Richmond, a crime-ridden East Bay city of about 120,000.

The first arrest came shortly after the attack when police apprehended 19-year-old Manuel Ortega, a former Richmond High School student, as he allegedly ran from the scene of the assault.

Then on Monday, investigators pulled two students out of class at the high school and brought them in for questioning. One student was released, but the other, a 15-year-old San Pablo boy, was booked on one count of sexual assault.

Police believe as many as 10 people ranging in age from 15 to mid-20s attacked the girl for more than two hours at a dimly lit area near benches Saturday night. As many as two dozen people saw the rape without notifying police.

At least three of the five suspects arrested attended the high school, Gagan said.

The victim, a sophomore, had left the dance and was drinking alcohol in a school courtyard with a group when she was attacked, police said.

Officers found the girl semiconscious and naked from the waist down near a picnic table. She remained hospitalized Wednesday with non-life threatening injuries and was in stable condition.

Police also hoped a $20,000 reward would bring more people forward with information leading to the arrests and convictions of all those involved in the attack.

Gagan said the girl left the dance and was walking to meet her father for a ride home when a classmate invited her to join a group drinking in the courtyard, which is located in a secluded corner on the north side of campus.

The girl had consumed a large amount of alcohol by the time the assault began, police said. Gagan said the girl's father tried to call her cell phone, but no one answered.

Police received a tip at 11:50 p.m. about a possible assault on campus from a young woman, a former student, who heard two males bragging about it.

The victim was found nearly an hour after the dance had ended.

Four Richmond police officers and several school administration members were providing security inside the school at the dance, but didn't know the attack was going on, West Contra Costa Unified School District spokesman Marin Trujillo said.

There were no security patrols taking place outside on school grounds at the time of the attack.

Meantime, the school board relocated a safety subcommittee meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday to Richmond High School. The meeting was set to be held in the high school's library and would include discussions on campus safety and safety measures for events during non-school hours, Trujillo said. 

In addition, Richmond High School officials organized a meeting for parents on Saturday at 10 a.m. in the school gym to discuss the attack and address concerns.

The school board was also seeking bids for plans to install digital security cameras on the campus, and build a fence around the perimeter, Trujillo said. While initial plans did not include a camera in the alleyway where the attack took place, "I'm pretty sure they are going to be looking at that area now," Trujillo added.

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