Neighbors on Long Branch save rape victim

There is a lot to be said for the exemplary response that several citizens of Ocean Beach exhibited last Sunday night, March 24, when a woman being sexually assaulted on Long Branch Avenue cried out for help. The OB Rag blog site featured a story on these heroic neighbors who ran

out of their homes when they heard screams and immediately stopped the vicious crime.

The bravery exhibited by Daniel Laverty and Matt Bruno, who were two of the many people that came to the victim’s aid, was said to be “heartwarming” by the deputy district attorney prosecuting the man later arrested at Robb Field for the crime, Richard Butts.

The OB Rag quoted neighbor Daniel Laverty , who "shrugged off" his heroics by saying that "I heard a scream, right off the bat, and heard help! Rape!

"We were being neighbors. We all love each other, we all look out for each other. That’s what happened.” Another neighbor, Matt Bruno, was equally as humble when he noted “we didn’t think of nothing, we just heard the scream and came out. I mean why wouldn’t you do that? Of course you’re going to do that.”

Because of a series of what the Rag termed "a half-dozen unsolved sexual assault crimes that have occurred in Ocean Beach over the last 6 months," many residents of the area are on high alert."