Woman Raped as Passers-By Fail to Intervene
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A 48-year-old woman was raped and beaten on a busy Santa Monica street Monday afternoon, and while hundreds of people were nearby, no one attempted to stop it, police said.
Witnesses, however, were able to point out a suspect to police, who arrested him. Chester Runions, 38, a transient, was booked for investigation of felonious attack, mayhem, rape and rape with an instrument.
The victim was in critical condition in Santa Monica Hospital. “He beat her so bad the bones in her face were broken and exposed and one of her eyes was half out of its socket, “ said Police Sgt. Ray Cooper.
The woman is a resident of a home for the mentally retarded, Cooper said.
“He raped and beat her in broad daylight in the middle of the afternoon just (across) from Santa Monica City College,” Cooper said. “There must have been hundreds of people walking or driving by but no one stopped.”
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