Thread: CA Richmond man named by co-defendant as gang-rape initiator

Wonder if any of these fine young men are eligible for the Dream Act.

MARTINEZ -- A 19-year-old Richmond man was identified by a co-defendant as the first person to force sex on a 16-year-old girl in what became a gang rape on the Richmond High School campus last year, according to court testimony Tuesday.

Defendant Manuel Ortega, 20, of Richmond, was in jail when he picked out Jose Montano from a photo lineup a week after police found the victim partially nude and unconscious under a picnic table in a dark campus courtyard Oct. 24, 2009.

"He said (Montano) was the first person to have sex with the girl," Richmond police Detective Eric Smith said.

Smith is the 11th witness in an ongoing preliminary hearing for seven men and boys who police said raped, beat and robbed the girl over a two-hour period as spectators watched. The incident occurred during a homecoming dance and after the girl blacked out from drinking too much alcohol.

Smith is the first witness to identify Montano by name in court as one of the girl's attackers, although previous officers have relayed accounts of a rapist matching his physical description.

Smith said he also interrogated Salvador Rodriguez, a 22-year-old Richmond man who was arrested and then released without charges.

Rodriguez named defendants Cody Ray Smith, 16, of San Pablo, and Elvis Josue Torrentes, 23, of Richmond, as people who inappropriately touched the girl, the detective testified. Rodriguez admitted to police that he sexually touched the girl before she became intoxicated on brandy, but said he tried to stop others from harming her once the assault was under way.

Rodriguez said Ortega ripped the clothes off the victim, who was lapsing in and out of consciousness, and people were doing "inhumane" things to her, according to the detective. Rodriguez said he almost came to blows with Ortega as he tried to get Ortega to leave.

Rodriguez said he left the courtyard to go buy a soda, and when he came back he picked the girl up, moved her to the picnic table and covered her with his T-shirt.

Police arrived soon after, as they were called to the scene by a young woman in the neighborhood who heard of the assault third-hand. Rodriguez admitted to police that he was one of the men officers saw running from the scene.

The other defendants are Marcelles James Peter, 18, of Pinole; Ari Adallah Morales, 17, of Pinole; and John Crane, 43, of Richmond. All of the juvenile defendants are charged as adults. Torrentes' charges call for 26 years in prison, while his six co-defendants are facing life in prison.

Judge Gregory Caskey will rule at the end of the preliminary hearing whether there is enough evidence to bring the defendants to trial.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_16744282

PLEASE TAKE NEW ACTION AGAINST DREAM ACT HERE

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-219869.html

19 years old - qualifies for the dream act.

Moving to other topics and news as no illegal immigration status is mentioned.

Richmond gang rape suspect gets six years in plea deal

By Matthias Gafni Contra Costa Times

POSTED: 01/16/2014

MARTINEZ -- Elvis Torrentes pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of sexual penetration of an intoxicated person and will serve six years in prison for his role in the infamous 2009 gang rape of a 16-year-old Richmond High School girl that drew nationwide outrage.

Torrentes, 26, who has been out on bail, reached a deal with prosecutors that was finalized in Judge Barbara Zuniga's courtroom.
The Richmond man faced the fewest charges of the six defendants in the case.

Manuel Ortega is serving a 32-year sentence and Ari Morales is serving 27 years for their roles in the attack, while Marcelles Peter and Jose Montano will serve up to 33 years to life.

The courtyard beyond the fence on the campus of Richmond High School, which was the scene of a gang rape, shown Oct. 26, 2009. (Kristopher Skinner/Staff file)


During a 2010 preliminary hearing, a judge dismissed two rape charges against Torrentes. He told police he sexually touched the girl but claimed that it was a consensual act that occurred before she passed out and before the assault began.

The girl, a sophomore at the school, was beaten, raped and otherwise sexually abused for more than two hours on Oct. 24, 2009, in a dark campus courtyard while spectators watched, shortly after a school dance. The victim fell in and out of consciousness during the attack because of head injuries and a near-fatal blood-alcohol level. She nearly died, a doctor testified during an earlier trial, and was initially in a coma.

The victim received a $4 million settlement from the West Contra Costa Unified School District in 2011.

The only defendant in this case yet to be tried is John Crane, 47, who is charged with rape. His semen was found on the victim and various objects left at the scene, according to testimony.

Investigators collected other DNA profiles from the scene but have not matched them to individuals, meaning still more suspects could face charges down the line.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_24929451/richmond-gang-rape-suspect-gets-6-years-plea