The Violence of Hmong Gangs and the Crime of Rape
lao_...@yahoo.com
Throughout the United States, the number of Hmong gangs and the
level of their criminal activity is increasing in severity. Their
participation in criminal activity has evolved over time. During that
evolution, they have become involved in a wide range of crimes, such
as homicides, gang rapes, prostitution, home invasions, burglaries,
auto thefts, and, most recently, the sale and distribution of illicit
drugs.
The crime of rape, however, with its violent nature, its strong
incorporation into the gang’s operational structure, and the serious
implications for the victim and the overall Hmong community,
represents a particular concern to the law enforcement profession and
requires a special focus to find ways of decreasing its occurrence. To
this end, the law enforcement community must examine the unique
structure of Hmong gangs, including their historical and cultural
influences, and the characteristics of the “ritual” use of rape by
these gangs and the impact on the victims.1
Exploring Hmong Gang Structure
The Hmong gangs started forming in St. Paul and Ramsey County,
Minnesota, in the mid-1980s.2 The first Hmong gang in Minnesota, the
Cobra gang, began as a group of teenage friends who played on a soccer
team. At the time, the majority lived in housing projects and banded
together to protect themselves and other Hmong youth from the racism
occurring in their schools and neighborhoods. Eventually, some members
of the Cobra soccer team became involved in crimes, leading to the
evolution of the Cobra gang. These crimes started out as fights,
thefts, and other minor crimes, but soon led to more serious crimes,
such as auto theft and aggravated assault.
Around 1988, some 10- and 11-year-old Hmong youths wanted to
become members of the Cobra gang. After being told that they were too
young, they decided to start their own gang, the White Tigers. The
White Tiger gang was, perhaps, the first Hmong gang to break into gun
shops to obtain weapons. They would steal a car, drive it through the
front door of a gun shop, and have individuals go into the store,
break the glass out of the gun cases, and scoop guns (usually only
semiautomatic handguns) into a bag. In just a few minutes, the gang
could acquire 20 to 30 guns. With these weapons, the White Tigers
became the first of the active and violent Hmong gangs in Minnesota.
In addition to these two gangs, several others, such as the
Oroville Mono Boys, Oriental Ruthless Boys, and Asian Crips, exist in
Minnesota and throughout the country. These gangs, comprised of many
members, operate in Califor-nia, North and South Carolina, Rhode
Island, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Because Hmong gangs are not as organized as African-American and
Hispanic gangs in leadership and rank structure, their members do not
need to ask a leader for permission before committing a crime. In
fact, some members of the gang may not know that their own members
have perpetrated a crime.
In addition, Hmong gangs often resort to violence, as was the
case in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area during the summer of 1999.
Within about a 6-week period, at least 22 reported shootings resulted
in two deaths and 14 injuries. The majority of these shootings
occurred among four rival gangs, the White Tigers, Oroville Mono Boys,
Purple Brothers, and Oriental Ruthless Boys. This violence primarily
resulted from the abundant availability of guns within the gangs and
the need to “save face” by not backing down or showing weakness to a
rival gang.
Moreover, Hmong gangs have considerable mobility. It is not
uncommon for gang members to drive from California to North Carolina,
stopping en route to visit fellow gang members in other states, such
as Minnesota or Wisconsin. Many times, these gangs transport guns to
another state and commit crimes in transit. Because of this mobility,
law enforcement agencies investigating these gangs must maintain a
high level of communication to effectively track gang activity.
Sergeant Straka serves with the
St. Paul, Minnesota, Police Department.
Understanding the Role of Rape
In addition to their violent tendencies toward rival gang
members, the Hmong gangs also present a violent threat to people who
are not members of gangs. The most frequent and violent crimes against
nongang members are rape and prostitution.
Since 1997, authorities have received reports of several gang
rapes, kidnappings, prostitution rings, and other violent sexual
assaults involving Hmong gang members. The majority of the victims in
these incidents are juvenile Hmong females. For example, during the
fall of 1997, St. Paul officers conducted an investigation involving
members of three Hmong gangs meeting juvenile Hmong females on the “G-
Line” (a message service using an access code where individuals can
leave messages and others can listen to them). Mainly used by gang
members who would call and disrespect rival gangs, the service also
attracted young females who would call to listen to the messages. In
such cases, some of the victims, 12 to 15 years old, arranged to meet
the gang members from the “G-Line.” The victims went willingly with
the males, but, in one case, the victim was kidnapped. The girls
thought that they were just going for a ride or to a party. Instead,
gang members took them to an attic of a garage or a house, turned off
the lights or put a blanket over their heads, and raped them. The gang
members called this “doing the Ninja” as the victim could not identify
who had sexually assaulted her. Several different cases, with multiple
victims, occurred over a period of time. However, the first victims
did not report the assault until several days later, and the other
victims had to be located and asked to make police reports. Gaining
the trust of the victims and working in the Hmong community eventually
led authorities to arrest and obtain convictions of eight members of
three different gangs.
While other such incidents occurred in Minnesota, the mobility of
Hmong gangs resulted in similar crimes in other states. For example,
in Warren, Michigan, several members of a Hmong gang were arrested for
repeatedly raping teenage girls who they had held prisoner for nearly
3 weeks. The gang had kidnapped some of the girls and also had
transported others from state to state and prostituted them. The
victims came from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Also, authorities in Fresno, California, uncovered a similar case
when the first three victims, 12-to 14-year-old Hmong girls, came
forward in April 1998. Members of the gang held the girls for 2 days
at a local motel. After further investigation, officers discovered
several other victims who agreed to come forward. Investigators
identified a total of 33 victims between January 1997 and April 1998.
The gang had held the victims anywhere from 2 days to 3 months.
The lead investigator stated that the case was so large that
officials had to pursue it in three phases.3 In the first phase, the
grand jury handed down 350 indictments on 14 suspects. Eleven of the
suspects pled guilty and received sentences ranging from 17 to 31
years in prison. Two other gang members got 280 years and 4 months and
94 years and 4 months, respectively, in prison. The second phase
consisted of the grand jury handing down a 323-count indictment and
several of the suspects pleading guilty. The third phase included 9
victims and 20 suspects, in which the grand jury handed down an 826-
count indictment. Several suspects pled guilty and others were found
guilty. The lead investigator also said that during the 2-year
investigation, 10 percent of the victims stayed with the gang and were
not threatened by its members. The rest were lured, kidnapped, and
forced into unwilling participants. The gang held the victims against
their will, repeatedly raped them, and forced them into prostitution.
Gang members displayed guns and beat and threatened those victims who
tried to leave.
These cases represent just a small number of the known and
reported gang rapes occurring across the country involving Hmong
street gangs. What makes these cases so similar is that the victims
were afraid to come forward and, in most cases, did so reluctantly.
Also, other victims in the cases would not come forward. One of the
reasons for this reluctance to come forward was fear of the gang
members because they had produced guns, talked about the “shootings”
they had been involved in, and threatened to assault the victims or
kill their families if they talked. After the victims were raped, they
feared being shunned by members of their families who now would
consider them “damaged” or having “shamed” them. This reaction stems
from the Hmong culture, which values virginity before marriage. If a
girl is raped, others in the Hmong community may look down on her. The
gang members also used this belief to their advantage. They told the
victims that they were no good to their families and that the gang was
now their family. “There is a double standard for Hmong girls, the
blaming and shame is big, and the girls give up when they see they are
not getting support from their family and the community.”4 Some of the
victims stayed with the gang members even after they were raped. They
felt that they had nowhere else to go because they feared their own
families more than the gang members.
These gang rapes and prostitution of young females are happening
everywhere, not just in large cities. “There is a market out there for
young girls, and the Hmong community is not seeing this, they are not
acknowledging it.”5
Investigating Hmong Gang Rapes
Due to their violent behavior, high degree of mobility, and broad
level of contacts around the country, Hmong gangs require law
enforcement agencies to practice quality tactics and maintain adequate
communication when conducting investigations. One of the most
important aspects in the investigation of a gang rape involves what
the street officer does at the scene. The street officer may not even
know that a crime has occurred or may believe that some juveniles only
have been drinking. All officers have responded to calls where they
encounter a group of young males and females who have been drinking at
a house or a motel. The difference in incidents involving Hmong
females with older males is that there probably has been more
happening than just drinking. Officers on the scene of such incidents
should—
• compare the ages of the females to the ages of the males (11- to 13-
year-old females in a room with adult or teenage males indicates a
problem);
• separate the females from the males and from each other (the females
may be more afraid of the police than of the males with them);
• ask the females their names, maybe more than once (they may lie
because they are afraid to go home, or they may be runaways);
• ask the females how long they have been with the males in the room,
how they know them, and where they met the males;• question the males
about who they are and how they know the females;
• search the room for evidence of sexual assaults, including condom
wrappers, condoms, and blood on the mattresses;
• check the motel records to determine who rented the room; and
• note and photograph any gang graffiti (if officers are unsure
whether a crime occurred, they should make every effort to ensure that
they properly identify everyone, including photographing the people
involved and the surroundings). When assigned a gang rape or
prostitution case involving a Hmong female victim, the investigator
may face difficulties. The incident may have happened days or weeks
earlier and little or no evidence may exist. The victim may be a
runaway or may have left home willingly with a group of unknown males
or gang members. Regardless, investigators must trust the victim, gain
her trust, and not question her judgment in allowing herself to become
a victim or not reporting the incident in a timely manner. The victim
not only has been sexually assaulted and threatened but also faces
possible cultural consequences. One 12-year-old victim stated, “I was
given two choices; the gang would kill me if I talked, or I could just
keep hanging out with the gang members and they could have sex with me
when they wanted.” She also said that she was afraid to tell anyone
because, being Hmong, she was afraid of what her parents would do to
her. She felt as though her parents would blame her for getting raped,
yell at her, hit her, or, worse, kick her out of the house.
To conduct a thorough investigation and to be respectful of the
victim, investigators should consider several factors. They may have
to talk to the victim several times, just to get new information and
to gain her trust. Only one person should interview the victim,
usually someone who has gained the victim’s trust. If it can be
avoided, a male Hmong officer should not interview the victim. The
Hmong officer can help identify the suspects, but the victim may
hesitate to discuss the matter with a Hmong male. The investigator
should attempt to find help from the Hmong community for the victim
and her family. Also, according to the lead investigator of the
Fresno, California, cases, investigators should “recognize the impact
of threats, violence, retaliation, length of time held, prostitution,
culture issues, and overall condition of the victim. Keep these issues
in mind when starting to interview. These victims have been severely
traumatized. Remember that everyone shows or reacts to a situation
differently. Don’t go into the interview expecting the victim to act
in any certain way.”6 In prostitution cases, it may prove difficult to
identify the pimps and to obtain evidence. The pimps are Hmong who
usually only offer the girls to other Hmong, often older members of
the community. They bring the victims to unknown locations or motels,
as well as transporting them to other cities and states.
One of the most difficult aspects of the investigation is keeping
the victim from disappearing. Many of these young Hmong girls have
been runaways. After they do come forward, they are under opposing
pressure from the police, suspects, friends, and family members.
Investigators must maintain almost constant contact with the victim
and continue to reassure her that she did the right thing by coming
forward.
Even after the investigation concludes, other people, such as
defense attorneys and members of the Hmong community, will scrutinize
the victims. The effects of the crime on its victims may be minimized
or viewed as typical teenage behavior. After the guilty charges in the
Fresno case, the local newspaper reported comments, such as “A bunch
of kids were doing the wrong thing. It was a big party, a moving
summer party. You blame somebody else, I’m not saying these guys are
all these innocent angels.
They’re not. They’re gang members, but certainly forcible rape, to me,
is out of the question. The girls themselves were gang members, too, a
lot of people disagree with the girls for charging the boys with
raping them. We, as parents, would want to put them both into jail.
Not everyone believed the girls.”7 Although cultural issues may
interfere, prosecution of these cases must continue.
Conclusion
Law enforcement can more effectively investigate and prosecute
cases of Hmong gang rapes and prostitution. Networking among law
enforcement agencies throughout the country is imperative due to the
mobility of Hmong gangs. More important, understanding the Hmong
culture and the role of the gangs in the community and following the
specific guidelines for investigation will equip the law enforcement
profession to better address the needs of the victims involved in gang
rapes and prostitution. Working with the victims will bring the
perpetrators to justice and ultimately put a stop to Hmong gang
rapes.
Endnotes
1 The author based this article on the knowledge he has gained
during 10 years of working in the Hmong community as a street officer
and investigator. He has talked to hundreds of Hmong gang members in
custodial and noncustodial situations and investigated numerous crimes
involving Hmong gangs, including homicides, assaults, rapes, and
prostitution rings.
2 Originally from China, some Hmong left due to persecution and
traveled to Vietnam and Laos around 1740. They fought alongside U.S.
troops and rescued downed pilots during the war in Vietnam. This
alliance resulted in persecution by the Vietnamese government, and
many Hmong immigrated to the United States, first settling in
California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. With additional families
immigrating to America, at least 36 states now have Hmong
populations.
3 Detective Brenda Trobaugh, Fresno, California, Police
Department.
4 Na Ly Yang, executive director of Women’s Association of Hmong
and Lao, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
5 Ibid. 6 Supra note 3.
7 These comments from various individuals connected with the case
appeared in the July 14 and 15, 2000, issues of the Fresno Bee.
lao_...@yahoo.com
Cat
offer?
brushoff
ລາວພວນ ລາວຮັກຊາດ
> Okay these are horrible crimes, do you have any suggestion or help to
> offer?
Parents and authority should work together, where are those Jortors
who thought they were smart and clever when poor Hmong kids need them?
brushoff
Yea rite,like buffalo's should have seen the crime in texas gangs.