Oct 28, 2009 3:55 pm US/Eastern
3 More Arrests In Gang Rape Of Calif. Student
Police: 15-Year-Old Girl Raped On School Campus After Social Event; As Many As 20 People Watched, About Half That Number Participated In Attack
RICHMOND, Calif. (CBS) ―
Police cars sit parked outside Richmond High School on Oct. 27, 2009, in Richmond, Calif. A 15-year-old student was sexually assaulted by several men on campus Saturday night after a school dance.
Three more people have been arrested in connection with the gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl outside her high school homecoming dance in Northern California.
The latest arrests include a 21-year-old man and two boys aged 16 and 17. Five people are now in custody in the attack that occurred Saturday at Richmond High School.
Police say 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.
The victim was airlifted to a local hospital after being beaten, robbed and raped.
Police say the victim had left the dance and was drinking alcohol in a school courtyard with a group when she was attacked.
Classes were back in session at Richmond High School in San Francisco's East Bay Tuesday, with counselors available for students to talk about Saturday night's horrific crime.
"Multiple offenders, multiple people raping over prolonged period," said Lt. Mark Gagan with the Richmond police.
What makes this crime so shocking is that police say at least 20 people were involved in the rape or stood and watched the crime without going for help.
"These are witnesses that are encouraging and allowing behavior to continue," Gagan said.
For those who watched and did nothing, it may be morally reprehensible, but it's not illegal.
"Although this is a very difficult crime to hear about, the fact is California law does not impose an affirmative obligation on anyone to do anything when you are watching a crime," said Trent Copeland, a legal analyst.
Richmond High School has a 69 percent truancy rate and is in a school district that had 19 student murders last year. Fights at Richmond have been posted on YouTube, and a van was set on fire on the football field's new artificial turf. An investigation by CBS station KPIX-TV last year found only a handful of the 16 security cameras in the school were working.
On Friday, there were four Richmond police officers on duty at the dance, but the security guards patrolling the grounds were released at 9 p.m., a half-hour before the victim left the dance.
"Dance was successful event and safe for the students that were there," said Marin Trujillo, the West Contra Costa Unified School District spokesman. "This dance itself was a successful event."
Police are now searching for cell phone video that onlookers may have recorded. Wednesday, it's expected that the suspects will be in court for arraignment.
It makes me so angry that people would just stand around watching and not think to call the police. Everyone that participated in the beating/rape needs the same thing done to them. 
