Richmond Rape: 911 call was a group decision

RICHMOND, CA (KGO) -- There is new information about the people who made the one and only 911 call to police the night a Richmond teenager was gang raped outside a school dance.

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A group of teens were gathered at a home to watch a movie. A young man arrived and told the others he just heard from two other young men there was a young girl naked and unconscious outside Richmond High School. Together they decided to call police.

A steady drizzle could not keep the 380 students of Leadership Public School, a small Richmond charter school, from standing up to honor their own.

"The message we should take from this incident is to take a stand against what is wrong," student body president Christopher Whitmore said.

Those honored included a current classmate and three former students who together decided to call 911 the night a 16-year-old girl was being gang raped outside the homecoming dance at Richmond High School.

AUDIO: Listen to the 911 call

Maggie Vargas dialed the phone, but the decision to call police was made by several teens, including a junior at LPS.

"The first thing that came to my head is that she's naked, she got raped, and then I thought, 'What if that was my friend,' cause I have friends that go there," she said.

The girl has decided to remain anonymous, but Vargas has decided to speak out publicly.

ABC7: "Did you ever think twice about making the call?

Maggie Vargas: "No I didn't, I didn't. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, especially a young girl like that."

"One of the ways we're going to make change in the community is by people being brave and having courage to step forward and look out for each other," LPS Principal Shawn Benjamin said.

As it turns out, the one 911 call made that night very likely saved a life.

"The neighbors didn't hear anything; she wasn't screaming or anything, nobody heard anything, if I were in that situation, I wouldn't want anyone to not call the cops for me," Vargas said.

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