POLICE believe as many as a dozen people watched a 15-year-old girl get beaten and gang-raped outside her high school homecoming dance without reporting it.

One suspect was in custody Monday, but police said as many as six other men attacked the girl over a two-hour period Friday night outside Richmond High School.

“She was raped, beaten, robbed and dehumanized by several suspects who were obviously okay enough with it to behave that way in each other’s presence,” Lt Mark Gagan said. “What makes it even more disturbing is the presence of others. People came by, saw what was happening and failed to report it.”

The victim remained hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries.

Manuel Ortega, 19, was arrested at the scene and was being held on US$800,000 bail for investigation of rape and robbery. He is not a student at the school.

Richmond police Sgt David Harris did not know if Ortega had retained an attorney.

Police said the girl left the dance and was walking to meet her father for a ride home when a classmate invited her to join a group drinking in the courtyard.

The victim had drank a large amount of alcohol by the time the assault began, police said.

Officers received a tip about a possible assault on campus and found the girl semi-conscious near a picnic table.

Marin Trujillo, a spokesman for the West Contra Costa Unified School District, said there were four police officers and three school administrators monitoring the dance, but the assault happened away from the gym. – AP