I have been told stories from my family about how my great grandmother woul have to hide in the basement when the Villistas were around for fear that they would rape her. Would situations like this have been a common occurrence or was this an isolated incident.
Villa himself was not a bandit, in the early years. After he took control of the region, he helped quite a lot of the poor in Chihuahua, wanted to give the peasants more land, and very much believed in education for them. He was much less harsh to civilians than the Carrancistas. But he had some officers who did indeed let their troops get out of hand, like Pablo Gonzalez and Tomas Urbina, and who were quite corrupt. And some, like Felipe Angeles, who were quite ethical and even compassionate. And after 1915, when he was forced to become a guerrilla he became more desperate and savage in his methods, and had less control of his army. So, it likely depends on when and where she was, for your great-grandmother. Katz: The life and Times of Pancho Villa