Richmond Rape: Good Samaritan speaks

Heather Ishimaru Image
ByHeather Ishimaru KGO logo
Friday, March 21, 2014
kgo

RICHMOND, CA (KGO) -- For the first time, the only person who called the police to report the brutal rape of a 15-year-old girl outside the Richmond High School homecoming dance is speaking about her actions.

Police say as many as 20 people stood by and did nothing as the girl was raped for 2.5 hours.

But one woman called police as soon as she heard what was happening. The 18-year-old mother and former Richmond High School student was at home watching a movie when her brother-in-law came home and said he had seen a girl getting raped.

"He was like, 'I'm scared,' and I'm like, 'Well, we should call the cops because that's the thing to do,'" Margarita Vargas said. "I didn't think about it twice, I just, I'm like, I immediately grabbed the phone and said, 'I'm gonna call the cops,' because that's something I wouldn't want anybody to go through or if I was in that situation, I would want someone to do the same for me."

Vargas said after making the call to police, she walked over to the school to make sure the police had arrived.

Vargas is proud of her decision to take action and in part credits leadership classes at Richmond High School for teaching her about responsibility and how to do the right thing. She wants people to know that Richmond is a good community.

6th Suspect Charged in Rape

Elvis Joshue Torrentes, a man that Richmond police say played a significant role in the rape was charged Wednesday with two felony charges of rape in concert with others and one count of using a foreign object in the crime.

Torrentes joins five other suspects in this case -- three of them minors, being tried as adults.

The suspects will hear the charges in court Thursday.

School Board Approves Surveillance Cameras

The West Contra Costa County School board voted Wednesday night to go ahead with plans to install surveillance cameras at Richmond High. There are also plans to better fence off the area where the assault happened. New lights are already in place.

Lead investigator updates case and talks about how victim is doing