- Report a typo
-
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.
MOST POPULAR: Video, stories and more
SIGN-UP: Get breaking news sent to you from ABC7Police 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.
RAW VIDEO: Lead investigator updates case and talks about how victim is doing
Today's latest headlines | ABC7 News on your phone
Follow us on Twitter | Fan us on Facebook | Get our free widget(Copyright ©2009 KGO-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
east bay news, heather ishimaru
Advertisement
- Packers beat 49ers at Lambeau Field, 30-24
- Jackson, Swift face off at American Music Awards
- abcnews: 9/11 defendants plan to plead not guilty
- Iran begins war games to protect nuclear sites
- Fatal plane crash near Watsonville investigated
- Six arrested after beating at Sequoia High School
- Assault on 12-year-old may be tied to Facebook
- Stabbed SF muralist returns to work
- `New Moon' wolfs down $140.7M in opening weekend
- weather: Bay Area weather forecast for Monday
-
Most Popular
-
Most Viewed StoriesMost Viewed VideoMost Viewed Photos
Advertisement
ABC7 Everywhere
Wireless
Breaking news as it happens. Sign up now!
Visit our mobile site at abc7newstogo.com.
Get our iPhone application.
Newsletters, Alerts, and RSS
Sign up for our newsletters to get news, weather and other alerts via email.
Get breaking news alerts on your desktop
With our RSS feeds, get real-time updates of abc7news.com using your favorite news reader.
Contests, Promotions, and Registration
Check out our contests and promotions. There are always great opportunities to win!
Become a member to enter contests, comment on stories, receive newsletters, and more!
Advertisement
- abc7news.com home
- Site Map
- RSS
- Advertise with Us
- Contact Us
- DTV Reports
- Technical Help
- ABC.com
- ABCNews.com
- Privacy Policy
- Safety Information for this site
- Terms of Use
- Copyright ©2009 ABC Inc., KGO-TV/DT San Francisco, CA. All Rights Reserved.





