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Bystanders' silence raises concerns in CA gang rape

By Trang Do - Bio | Email

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - Most people who see a crime would call police.

But that didn't happen in Richmond, California.

Police said as many as ten people may have gang-raped a teen after she left a school dance.

The teen was brutalized as a crowd watched.

Police discovered the crime only after the victim went to the hospital. 

WAFF 48 News talked to local experts about how this crime could happen and no one report it.

UA-Huntsville Psychology Professor Dr. Eric Seemann said the bystander effect could explain last Saturday's gang rape witnessed by more than two dozen people.

"If it was just one person say, viewing a crime, they would do something. But when multiple people are together, there's a diffusion of responsibility. It's kind of like saying to yourself, 'Someone else will do something,'" Seemann said. 

And what would prompt so many people to participate in the assault?

Dr. Seemann said particularly in sexual assault cases, attackers will blame the victim in an attempt to justify their own actions.

"You shouldn't have worn those clothes. You shouldn't have been here or you know what kind of a guy I am, or you should have known. And therefore what I did is okay because of what you brought to the table. And that's absolutely wrong," Seemann said. 

Many people would agree that doing something to stop crime in progress is the morally right thing to do. But is it a crime not to?

WAFF 48 News brought that question to Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard.

"To tell you the truth it's not a crime. If you witness a crime, there is nothing under the Alabama code that says that you have to intervene or that you have to report the crime," he said.

Broussard said he wouldn't be surprised if Alabama adopted such a law in the future, but said it shouldn't be necessary.

"You can't help but hear a story like this and worry about our country. It will be a crying shame if we get to the point where we have to have laws in place to make people do the right thing," Broussard said.  

An official with the district attorney's office in California handling the case said those who witnessed the attack and did not report it, could face aiding and abetting charges.

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