Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Scott A. Marks, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In Richmond, California, police and investigators continue to search for witnesses and participants in a horrendous gang rape incident that took place outside of a homecoming dance. Police recently reported that at least 10 participated in the assault while 10 others watched. What a terrible and unforgivable incident? The ten who participated are criminals and should serve time for their crimes. The victim was 15 years old. An interesting law passed in 1999 in California makes it a crime for the failure to report a crime committed against a child 14 and under. While the witnesses may not have committed a crime under this law, their lack of action and contribution as spectators should certainly be scrutinized and categorized as a crime if possible under other California statutes, ordinances, and / or case law. Forensic evidence has been collected which includes DNA evidence of several of the criminals involved in the assault. It was reported that the assault took place over a 2 1/2 hour time period. Even the Richmond, California School District has admitted some liability for these acts by the statements of Charles Ramsey, a member of the Richmond School Board. Mr. Ramsey stated that the school district bears some responsibility for the attack (assault) based on the lack of or inadequate supervision in the area of the attack. You can read more about this story and the related investigation at As Many As 20 Involved in Assault on 15 Year Old California Girl Outside of Homecoming Dance.