Monquasha Peter, 19, cousin of rape suspect Marcelles Peter, 17, reacts as she claims his innocence outside of a Richmond, Calif., courthouse Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009. Four teens were charged, including Peter, in the alleged gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl outside her high school homecoming dance in Richmond.
Two students walk next to a sign about violence at Richmond High School in Richmond, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009. Four teens were charged in the alleged gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl outside of her high school homecoming dance. All four, ages 15, 16, 17 and 19, who will be charged as adults, were charged with rape and enhancements that they acted in concert, which could make them eligible for life in prison.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old suspect who they believe was involved in the rape of a 15-year-old girl at Richmond High School last week.
Jose Carlos Mantano was arrested around 5 p.m. Thursday night outside his San Pablo home.
Richmond police Lieutenant Mark Gagan said they believe the 18-year-old played a significant role in the rape of the victim.
Montano was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on felony charges of rape, rape in concert with force, penetration with a foreign object and a special enhancement requesting life in prison. His bail was set at $1.3 million.
Thursday’s arrest comes after four other suspects were arraigned in Contra Costa County Superior Court earlier in the day
Three are juveniles, but will be charged as adults in the case and they are all scheduled back in court on November 5.
Gagan said the investigation is still ongoing as investigators believe there are more suspects still at large.
The victim of the attack was released from the hospital on Wednesday and Richmond High School has set up a trust fund for her and her family.
Police are offering a $20,000 reward for any information in the ongoing investigation.
Four teenagers were arraigned Thursday on charges connected to the incident. Cody Ray Smith, described by the court as over 14 years old, pleaded not guilty to charges of rape with a foreign object and rape by force.
Two other juveniles, Ari Abdallah Morales and Marcelles James Peter, appeared together with Smith at the Contra Costa County Superior Court, but did not enter a plea. The court described Morales as under 16, and did not give an age for Peter.
All three juveniles, who wore bulletproof vests at the hearing, were charged as adults. A fourth individual, Manuel Ortega, 19, appeared separately without an attorney and did not enter a plea. He did not wear a protective vest. Another adult who was arrested has a different court date.
As many as 10 people were involved in the assault in a dimly lit back alley at the school, police have said. Another 10 people watched, without calling 911, police said.
The victim was released from a hospital Wednesday, police said.
Police have made a sixth arrest in the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl outside a high school dance.
Richmond police say 18-year-old Jose Carlos Montano was arrested around 5 p.m. Thursday outside his San Pablo home.
Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan describes Montano as having played a "significant role in the rape of the victim." Gagan says Montano was being held on suspicion of rape, rape in concert with force and other charges.
Montano was being held on $1.3 million bail.
The arrest of Montano comes after three other teen suspects appeared for the first time in court Thursday.
A 19-year-old and a 21-year-old have also been arrested in the case.
Police say the victim was attacked after leaving a homecoming dance at Richmond High School Saturday night.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) — Wearing bulletproof vests, three teen suspects appeared for the first time in court Thursday on charges of gang raping a 15-year-old girl outside a high school dance while as many as two dozen people watched without calling police.
Defendant Cody Ray Smith, 15, pleaded not guilty, while Ari Abdallah Morales, 16, and Marcelles James Peter, 17, did not enter pleas during their arraignment in Contra Costa County Superior Court.
Peter's aunt, Monica Peter, said before the hearing that her nephew had told her he was only a bystander and did not participate in the attack.
Asked why he didn't do anything to stop it, she said he feared "he would get his ass kicked."
Sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee could not explain why the defendants wore the protective vests. But prosecutor Dara Cashman said her office had been getting a tremendous number of calls and e-mails about the case, mostly "expressions of outrage from all over the country."
Morales was sporting a black eye in court from a separate incident, authorities said.
Morales' lawyer, Ernie Castillo, said he was still learning details about the case.
"I don't know what limited role, if any, my client played," Castillo said. "This was a tragic, horrible incident that happened to this young woman."
Reports have indicated onlookers laughed and joked during the attack. Police would not comment on rumors the episode had been recorded on cell phones.
Smith, Morales, and Peter were each charged with rape in concert and sexual penetration with a foreign object. They were being held without bail and could be eligible for life in prison, if convicted.
They were charged as adults because of the severity of the crime, which showed "callousness and viciousness," prosecutor Dara Cashman said.
"It's just very cold," she said after the hearing.
Another suspect, 19-year-old Manuel Ortega, was arraigned separately but did not enter a plea. He is charged with rape, robbery and assault causing great bodily injury. He is being held on $1.2 million bail.
Salvador Rodriguez, 21, also remained jailed but has not been charged.
Police said the victim left the homecoming dance at Richmond High School and was walking to meet her father for a ride home when a classmate invited her to join a group drinking in the school courtyard.
The girl had consumed a large amount of alcohol by the time the assault began, police said. The girl's father tried to call her cell phone but no one answered.
Police received a tip about a possible assault on campus from a former student, who heard two males bragging about it. Officers found the girl semiconscious and naked from the waist down near a picnic table.
She was released from a hospital Wednesday.
Police are still looking for more suspects in the Saturday night attack and believe as many as 10 people ranging from 15 to the mid-20s may have attacked the girl for more than two hours in a dimly lit area.
A $20,000 reward is being offered for information.
The victim of last weekend's brutal gang rape at her homecoming dance was a devout Christian who attended church three times a week and whose friends say had been looking forward to the homecoming dance for weeks.
Kami Baker, one of the victim's close friends, said the girl came to the dance Saturday evening clad in a sparkling purple gown, diamond necklace and matching silver shoes.
"When we walked in the dance together she said, 'I can't wait to get my dance on!'" Baker,16, told ABCNews.com.
But what began as a night the teen girls were looking forward to at Richmond High School outside San Francisco, soon became a nightmare, when the 15-year-old became victim to a horrific two-and-a-half hour gang rape in a dark corner of the school grounds.
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