"Homecoming Gang Rape: 'No One Wants to Call the Cops'"

[pampango]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/gang-rape-911-call-call-cops/story?id=9012322

"A 911 call to the police after a homecoming dance on Oct. 24 at a California high school reveals more than the fact that a drunken, naked girl was by the dumpster on school property. ... The caller, who identified herself as Maggie, said that she heard people talking about the girl, described as a "ninth grader," but had not seen her for herself." "We didn't want to go back there because we were scared," she nervously told the dispatcher. "Nobody wants to call the cops, so we decided to call the cops."

"Police said the victim left the homecoming dance and was walking to meet her father for a ride home when a classmate invited her to join a group drinking in the school courtyard. The victim of the attack is a devout Christian who attended church three times a week and whose friends say had been looking forward to the homecoming dance for weeks."

"Kami Baker, one of the victim's close friends, said the girl came to the dance clad in a sparkling purple gown, diamond necklace and matching silver shoes. "When we walked in the dance together she said, 'I can't wait to get my dance on!'" Baker, 16, told ABCNews.com. "She was perfectly sober at the dance," said Baker, who saw the victim just 15 minutes before she left the dance. "She was bubbly, and kept saying how happy she was to be at the dance.""

"She described her friend as an outgoing student who was enrolled in an honors English class. Although she had wanted to join the school's photography club, her parents didn't like her to stay after school and her church commitment took up much of her time."
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I haven't been following all the twists and turns in this story the past few days. I didn't know that it was a girl at the dance that made the 911 call.

Again, this may have already been discussed on DU, but if she left the dance to meet her dad for a ride home, where was he for 2 hours? Has he been heard from? I had to pick up my son at high school dances and if he hadn't shown up for a lot less time than that I would have been out looking for him.

It was such a tragedy for the girl. And if the victim was a "good" student (Honors classes, academically gifted, etc.) whose parents perhaps considered an alternative to the public high school but decided against it, the school will also suffer as it becomes more difficult to attract and retain "good" students. Some of their parents will think twice about the alternatives to this high school given what has happened.

I taught in an urban school district. Lots of children learn better when there are examples of others in the classroom doing just that, hence the importance of heterogeneous ability groupings. If more "good" students leave for private or charter schools, the children who remain will suffer.

[EOTE]

1. Fucking evil cowards.

All this talk of mob mentality does nothing to my belief that the people who knew of this and let it happen were engaging in evil. I refuse to believe that the collective IQ of a group drops precipitously as it increases in size. These people had to know that by doing nothing, they're almost as culpable as the rapists themselves. How the fuck can so many people have such a callous disregard for human life?

[imdjh]

3. They have to convince themselves that it's not cultural.

[EOTE]

8. I don't understand what you're saying.

I'm guessing that similar incidents have happened in other cultures. Why would culture be relevant to their thinking? Most people know right from wrong, when something this wrong is happening, why is it that not one in this large group took steps to put an end to it? They didn't even need to risk being the odd man out, one simply could have left and called 911. I saw a motivational poster on a forum once that said something to the effect of "None of us is as evil as all of us." Didn't seem to make much sense until I think about shit like this.

[CreekDog]

29. Some would report if they weren't afraid of gang retaliation against them or their families

And that kind of thing is not about "culture", it's the same fear people in places like Richmond have regardless of their race and/or culture.

Besides, we are all Americans.

[TwilightGardener]

5. I think the more people that participate or watch, the more they believe

the wrongdoing is "spread out" and lessened. After all, if everybody's doing it, I'M only a little bit wrong--what about those OTHER guys? Not saying it's less evil, just probably the mindset of the perps and witnesses.

[CreekDog]

30. Oh please, about this straw man that these people in Richmond just don't think things aren't wrong

that idea sucks.

great stereotyping you got there. :grr:

[okieinpain]

14. drive-by shooting. n/t

[reggie the dog]

19. If you lived in a neighborhood where teenagers shoot and kill

people and you saw these killers in school or hanging out outisde of the school 5 days a week you too might be scared. It is not cowardly to be scared of being killed for calling the cops.

[EOTE]

21. You can do it anonymously.

All you have to do is step out and call 911, just give the location and not your name. And these people weren't killers, they were rapists. Rapist who would have quickly been put behind bars. Not doing anything is completely incomprehensible.

[theHandpuppet]

23. I still fear for the victim and her family

She will have to testify at a trial and I just hope to hell there will be plenty of security for her and for her family.

[CreekDog]

32. kind of sad that you are the first one to say this

when most of the others think the witnesses are somehow "culturally" (perhaps ethnically...) different than them.

i don't think i have the hubris to say, well, i am so much better than them "culturally" because *i* would have done the right thing and they don't even know what right is!

whatever about that. :rant:

:grr:

[imdjh]

2. "The victim of the attack is a devout Christian who attended church three times a week "

As opposed to a drunken slut who wanted it? You have to wonder about some of these "journalists".

[Hello_Kitty]

11. Unfortunately that detail will be needed because too many people look to blame the girl

And trust me, they will still find one aspect of her behavior to fixate on.

[Berry Cool]

27. They will blame her for naivete; if that is all they can pin on her, they will.

God help her if she happened to be the school tramp. Then we'd be hearing about how this wasn't even a big deal and how do we know she didn't want it? *sigh*

[JonQ]

18. People blamed the victim in the polanski case

so anything to weaken those folks' arguments in favor of blaming the victim is worthwhile I suppose.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

4. Reporting a crime to the cops is a pretty big inconvenience.

Making police statements, signing papers, being a part of the victim's tragedy...
Major buzz-kill on a homecoming night, that's for sure.

[EOTE]

6. Please tell me you're being sarcastic.

You very well might be, but it's hard to tell on the internet. But the inconvenience of reporting something like this would be the absolute last thing on my mind if I knew something like this was happening.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

7. response in 1min 45 secs... a new best!

Yes, the sentiment was entirely facetious.
The goal was to see how fast I could garner comment.

1m:45s ... a new personal best.
The fastest I've ever been banned from a forum was about 3m:30s.
it's a gift. :P

[EOTE]

9. I was trying to attack you. I was honestly trying to understand.

Believe it or not, there are people here who have made comments like that without the slightest hint of sarcasm. I usually try to avoid the sarcasm smiley because I think usually my sarcasm is so obvious as to not need it, but sometimes it can be a bit difficult to discern on the internet.

On edit: I do think it's a bit tasteless to play a game like that on a thread like this.

[imdjh]

39. Actually, he's right if you don't know what you are doing, the police can make you sorry you called.

So what a person needs to do is call the police and say, "There's a rape going on behind Richmond High school near the dumpster. Hurry." and then hang up. If you don't hang up, the operator will really piss you off.

[EFerrari]

10. Police contact can be frightening for young people, too.

They are afraid they will be blamed or worse.

[imdjh]

15. How would the police know you're an illegal alien from a phone call?

[Hello_Kitty]

16. I'm sure the sheriff of my county, Joe Arpaio, would insist he could discern that. eom

[Hell Hath No Fury]

24. Where did you get that from --

that post? "Illegal alien"? What the fuck is that about? First you assume a SF cop is gay and now you assume teenss from Richmond are illegals?

[imdjh]

26. Why else would a young person fear calling the police?

[JVS]

34. That corner of campus was where a bunch of kids had left the dance to drink.

If you were a kid who has had a few beers, would you want to deal with cops?

[EFerrari]

25. What does being undocumented have to do with this?

[Ignis]

12. Argh, why publish the name of the 911 caller?!

I sure hope that "Maggie" used a fake name when she called. :scared:

[reggie the dog]

20. If not they are going to kill her

just letting someone know that it was a woman who called is stupid, that rules out half of possible suspects, then to say it is a student narrows it down too far. If the rapists are in gangs the other gang members are honor bound to help eliminate witnesses etc.

[Ignis]

22. Exactly, and good point re: the caller's gender.

Someone's going to talk eventually, or be forced to talk under threat of violence, or be overheard while telling the "secret" to a friend, or ....

Again, I really hope the name "Maggie" is a nom de 911. :(

[mamaleah]

35. Seriously, I hope it's not her real name.

If it is, someone needs to be fired. The only one to call 911 and lets punish her by plastering her name out there.

[Book Lover]

36. The young woman who called has spoken to the local media using her own name

I find her frankness and refusal to be intimidated admirable.

[Ignis]

37. That's what I get for not watching local media.

Well, she's brave as hell, in that case, but I still worry for her safety and the safety of those around her.

[Book Lover]

38. Competely agreed

I just wanted to let the word out that this young woman has already willingly gone public with her identity.

[TheMightyFavog]

13. We've been having this same conversation since 1964.

Remember Kitty Genovese?

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[CreekDog]

28. Police need to figure out how to protect people who report and/or testify

I don't blame people for being scared that they or a family member will be killed for simply reporting and/or testifying of criminal activity.

In SF, we had a witness get killed like this.

I don't think it's cowardly to not want to be killed. It's pretty damned human to not want to be killed.

[lebkuchen]

31. In Germany it's illegal if you DON'T call the cops

If you're the first on the scene, it's against the law not to stop and help.

[Odin2005]

33. Ugh. There are no words.

:cry: