Lesbian Gang Raped in San Fran Suburb
An openly lesbian resident of a San Francisco suburb was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped by four men, leading gay bloggers to worry that in the wake of Prop. 8, anti-gay assaults may rise.
The brutal attack reportedly took place on Dec. 13 and involved several Latino and one African-American man, according to a Dec. 21 article in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The article said that police are investigating the assault as a hate crime because of anti-lesbian utterances from the suspects.
According to the article, the assault took place around 9:30 on the evening of Dec. 13 in Richmond. Four men attacked a lesbian woman with a rainbow sticker on her car, assaulting her as she emerged from her vehicle and then shoving her back into her vehicle and driving her several blocks away from an extended period of time--estimated at 45 minutes--during which the four men raped her.
The suspects then drove off in the woman’s car, leaving her nude. The woman sought help from the occupants of a nearby residential building.
Richmond Police Force Lt. Mark Gagan was quoted as saying, "The emotional impact has changed her life."
Added Lt. Gagan, "It is an absolute nightmare for her to have gone through.
"For 45 minutes, four strangers brutalized her."
The woman was treated at a local hospital; her car was found the following day.
The four suspects are wanted for sexual assault, robbery, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and carjacking.
One suspect was described as a Latino weighing 180 lbs. with a height of five and a half feet. Thought to be the leader, he was said to be in his 30s.
Two other men were also described as Latinos between 18-20 years of age, with one of them having been referred to as "Pato."
The fourth suspect was described as an African-American man of about 170 lbs., with a height of 5’10". He was referred to as "Blu," and was said to be in his early 20s.
Police have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.
Said Lt. Gagan, "Everybody in our community has an interest in making sure these people are apprehended and brought to justice."
The article listed Det. Ysenia Rogers at 510-672-1718 as the officer to contact with any information.
In the wake of voter approval of California’s Proposition 8, which rescinded the right of gay and lesbian families to marry, hundreds of demonstrations have taken place all over the country.
Though overwhelmingly peaceful in nature, a very few isolated instances of conflict have taken place between anti-Prop. 8 protesters and anti-gay counter-demonstrators.
The right wing has seized on those few instances in an attempt to paint the GLBT community as "violent" and "anti-Christian."
But bloggers fear that the sexual assault against the lesbian in Richmond may be more indicative of the current climate, with gays and lesbians being legitimized as targets by the passage of the anti-gay ballot initiative.
At the Daily Kos, blogger Shane Hensinger commented on the assault, writing on Dec. 21 that, "In the wake of the passage of Prop 8 gay people are more at risk than ever."
