E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSTwo Ohio high-school football players accused of raping a teenage girl may not get a fair trial after a photo and video allegedly associated with the case were posted on the Internet by the computer hacking group Anonymous, a lawyer for one of the accused said on Friday.
The players, both 16 and members of the Steubenville High School football team, are charged with raping a 16-year-old fellow student last August, according to statements from their attorneys to local and national media.
Their juvenile court trial is scheduled for February in Steubenville, a city of 19,000 about 40 miles west of Pittsburgh.
The case shot to national prominence this week when Anonymous activists made public a picture allegedly of the rape victim, being carried by her wrists and ankles by two young men, and of a video that showed several other young men joking about an alleged assault.
Walter Madison, the lawyer for one of the defendants said on CNN that his client was one of the young men in the photograph, but does not appear in the video.
But the picture "is out of context," Madison said. "That young lady is not unconscious," as has been widely reported.
"A right to a fair trial for these young men has been hijacked," Madison said, adding that social media episodes such as this have become a major threat to a criminal defendant's right to a fair trial.
"It's very, very serious and fairness is essential to getting the right decision here," he said.
Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter
Adam Nemann, an attorney for the other defendant, could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday. In an interview on Thursday with Columbus, Ohio, broadcaster WBNS-10TV, Nemann raised concerns about the effect the Anonymous postings could have on potential witnesses in the case.
"This media has become so astronomically ingrained on the Internet and within that society, I am concerned witnesses might not want to come forward at this point. I would be surprised now, if there weren't witnesses now who might want to start taking the Fifth Amendment," Nemann told the station.
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution offers protection against self-incrimination in criminal proceedings.
The case has also been a challenge for local officials because of conflicts of interest. Both the local prosecutor and police have close ties to the school that the defendants attend.
Watch the Top Videos on NBCNews.com
As a result, the case is being investigated and prosecuted by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office.
Interviewed on CNN on Friday, DeWine said it was not unusual for his office to prosecute or investigate cases in small towns where close ties within the community caused conflicts of interest to arise.
He also voiced concern about how social media may affect the case.
"This case needs to be tried not in the media, not in social media," DeWine said.
He said Anonymous' attempt to shame the alleged attackers had actually harmed the victim.
Not only is the victim hurt by the initial crime, but "every time something goes up on the Internet, the victim is victimized again," DeWine said.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Fiscal cliff deal includes at least $67.9 billion for special interests
- State worker accused of showing Adam Lanza's body to husband
- Court: Flipping the bird at a cop doesn't warrant arrest
- Profanity-laced YouTube video gets officer fired
- Video: ‘Pecs,’ ‘legs,' ‘frisking’: Biden works the room at photo-op
Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Leave a Comment:
If this is the type of "sportsmanship" being taught in Steubenville, Ohio, the whole football program should be disbanded! Yet another fine example of athletes being given a free pass, while the entire town looks the other way. People of Steubenville, you turn my stomach!
Oh dear! Rapists not getting a fair trial! My god! These @!$%#s might be convicted!
It's ok it's just teens having fun....it's not like they shot anyone !!!
I keep trying to understand how this EVER got as far as it did. That not one person got on their cell n called for help for this little girl when it all started, is beyond imagining. Instead they used these instruments to document step by step what has to be an act of collective insanity. Wherever did the sense of 'entitlement ' come from that they could DO this to another human being? The questions are endless. Where were parents? Where was the law? Where was the academic community that allowed ANY athlete or student involved to continue to play a sport let alone attend that school until an investigation was completed? And what more evidence could possibly be needed than the social media frenzy that went on during and after the 'incident '? Those that did not physically assault her are just as guilty in my estimation. They can honestly say 'I didn't do anything.' No you didn't and by your very APATHY and unwillingness to help the girl or keep this from going any further, you are ALL accessories during and after the fact. To be able to go on with your lives as if nothing had happened and to have your actions condoned by your peers and those adults who have any type of authority over all of you, means that no justice will be found for this girl. You have the nation 's attention now. But There should be a heavy price to be paid, including the one Coach.
Thank goodness Anonymous posted that evidence. It will assure that justice is carried fairly. Otherwise, these criminals may have been free to carry more rapes in the future because the school and everyone associated with it would want to protect the football players. I'm so sorry for what the victim went through. I hope these violators get the book thrown at them. Shame on the defense attorneys for wanting to protect rapists!
I hope they enjoy prison...We can make them up a "care package", Bandaid, Vaseline, soap on a rope. Won't do them much good, they'll be too pretty to be left alone!
I do know if they had done this to my daughter, we wouldn't be wasting time or tax dollars to defend them, I would "settle out of court".
"A right to a fair trial for these young men has been hijacked" which is lawyer-speak for "the truth came out and it's killing my case".
A picture is worth a thousand words. Too bad that some bottom-feeding, ambulance chasing lawyer will have to use facts instead of creative fabrication to prove the alleged innocence of his clients. A whole other ball game now, thanks to "you tube" and the like. Granted, the corporate media is guilty of rushing to judgement in their attempt to sell the story. But everyday John's and Jane's with hand-held video recording devices are not part of that scenario. These are people who just happen to be "Johnny on the spot," and have video evidence of alleged law breaking and wrong doing, then post this information on various social media sites. Not everyone gets to see these postings, just those that choose to tune in. And if the system works as it should, public opinion should not matter, if the truth be told. But if in this criminal justice system, the fate of the accused, or the charges of the prosecution are dependent upon the truthful words of attorneys, each side is at risk. It will be a trial of their alleged peers, and that will determine their innocence or guilt, not a video on "you tube." Social media is entertainment, nothing more. Get on with it defense team. Kind of tough when you can't dispute the facts without creative story telling. Boo hoo!
Social media BS aside, these assbags raped a female, they now need to be tried as adults and have the maximum penalty meted out. A little prison time is too good for these idiots. These jocks think that because they're football players they might be special? Put them in prison with the big boys and they'll be treated just as special as they treated their young victim. An eye for an eye. Pun intended.
stop raping women and you will not have to worry about prison, fair trials. Little thugs need to hang for their actions. If the boys get a light sentence then you know the judge or prosecutor was paid off.
The prison population will treat the boys just fine , showing them just how it feels to be violated over and over.
The boys better be glad it was not my daughter as they would already be dead.
Your Right about that Nailer45! They will be shown,over and over and over again!!!
Those lawyers better watch out, lest Anonymous goes for them too.
Oh how I hope anonymous goes after the attorneys, parents, adults that supplied the alcohol and most of all the filthy school officials! That coach should be fired immediately! He allowed athletes who were at an alcohol party to walk onto the field of play!
The mother tried to sue the blog owner as well as the anonymous posters about her sweet little boy and she backed off. You know she was getting tired of the 100 pizza deliveries a day.
The Rape-ers, need to become The Rape-ed a few dozen times and see how They like it. The Sheriff and D.A. included. Perhaps then, they would Not think it such a lighthearted 'game', or infraction on the part of the star football players. A Rape can last a life time in the mind of the victim! So why not at least that long in the mind of the criminal(s) as well?
i say try them as adults, at 16 you know what is right and wrong by then. you should not get a free pass anymore in our society, just because you are below the age of 18. time for us to start punishing these kids like adults. time for us to start hanging rapists as well, instead of just a slap on the wrist or limited jail time.
There should be some adults also in jail right now!
Providing alcohol to minors is a crime.
Providing alcohol when a underage crime was committed should carry some long prison terms!
NO EXCEPTIONS!
I watched the video. It is truly disgusting. These boys are rapists, they admit it, then joke about. Passed this poor girl around like garbage. No prison sentence is too long for them. Too bad castration of rapists is not legal, it should be for these discusting young men. That poor young woman and her family, they will never recover from this. The boys in the background are no better.
If these boys can't respect the gift between their legs, then they don't deserve to have it. And the a$$holes that stood by, laughed, and/or knew it was going on, are just as guilty of allowing it to happen. What if it had escalated to other, lethal levels, then who'd be held accountable? All of them are guilty, irregardless who leaked the story, it happened and justice needs to be served.
Serious??????? "A right to a fair trial for these young men has been hijacked," I don't think so, maybe the chances for them to get away easily from this crime has been hijacked but not the right to a fair trial. The video just show what really happened, so if they are innocent they don't have to worry about it. What about the rights of the young girl that was rapped??????????? Maybe, now with this video she will have her justice.
I'd be willing to take these two POS's on a one way hunting trip.And they should be beaten before killing them . Takes two real badazz 16 yr old boys to rape one little girl.
If Anonymous had not gone public with this, the whole matter would have been swept under the rug and the Rape Squad could go on doing what they do best. The POS in the video is laughing not only at the girl being raped and peed on, but that she was dead as well. A girl that makes a wrong decision does not deserve this inhumane and brutal treatment. These little monsters need to be defiled in prison so we can all laugh at them.
Janstince, no the issue is not a girl has been raped, the issue is the girl claimed she was raped.........talk about bias and unfair. Sorry but after being a LEO myself, I have seen my fair share of false rape claims and as we in America say "innocent until proven guilty". How many times does a girl sleep with a guy and wake up the next day feeling guilty and ten catches crap from the more popular girls who call her names? And your going to tell me that after something like that a girl already in a state of depression isn't going to go looking for pity and sympathy? Say what you want and go ahead with the whole "If it was your daghter" BS that all you ex Judges like to say. Point is rape sucks period and it destroys lives forever. Not only are females destroyed forever but so are the males that are false accused and it goes on much more than people want to admit. What needs to happen is parents need to start being parents and setting rules. You people who think a parent telling their daughter how to dress and what time to be home on a school night and being 15yo, she has o business being anywhere where she could be around a bunch of boys in the first place. Thats called poor parenting and you can thank this liberal society for pushing the whole "teens need independence and responsibility" for the crap that goes on today. I'm sorry but until your 18 and living on your own, you are a CHILD, a MINOR and the point of parenting is to teach and live by example as well as being a nurturing parent. Stop teaching teens about sex when they have no business even considering it at that age in the first place. You people seem to just let the facts slid on by when the liberals in America said that the best way to stop teen pregnancy and rapes in America was to teach the kids at a younger age and now America has the #1 highest teen pregnancy rate as well as the wonderful award for having the youngest pregnancy crisis in history but hey, what does a neoconic homophobic Christian know about that who dares teach their children abstinence? Back in the 1950's in America a 16yo child still played as a child but was also taught about being a young adult by their parents. IT wasn't looked at as an acceptable issue if a young lady hung around a bunch of boys and most girls would not be caught doing such a thing back then. Why is it that the prior to 1953 divorce in American was at 2.6%, teen pregnancy was almost unheard of and rape was something that was a rare event compared to today. The thing is, we cannot have things both ways people. You cannot want morality and teach immorality. Today many of the ignorant fools teaching our kids in the public education system teach that bad is good and good is bad. Look at how society is toward Christians in general. "Here comes Mr./Mrs. Do Good"................Fine! Accuse them of being Good! I could care less what your beliefs are or if you even do but the Christians got something right because if you as much as try to live a lifestyle according to what Christ taught, much of this garbage would simply be an afterthought.
Way to blame the victim. Did you watch the video or look at the pics. The kid is laughing that she is dead. So lets say he thought she was dead, even in jest, the next level up from Dead is unconcious right? So either she is Dead, Unconcious or faking Dead or unconscious. She was also vomiting numerous times. So you are saying that this young lady deserved to be dragged from party to party vomiting and limp and it is all a joke? She wanted to be peed on? She wanted to be filmed being sodomized in the back seat of a car. Glad you are no longer a LEO.
Damn, cons are stupid!
Of course there are people who claim rape when it wasn't. But you seem to be pointing a finger at females - how they dress, how they behave, etc.
Why is it that we can allow boys to have fun and have sex (in fact, encouraging them to prove their 'manhood') and yet we tell girls to remain virginal, to show no interest in sex, etc.?
The fact is that females and males both enjoy sex. Sex is fun and the teenage years are biologically and chemically when sex is initiated. There should be no shame to teach both girls and boys to appreciate their bodies, yet to respect one another and one another's consent.
You're forgetting that until the early 20th century, women would get married in their teens and starting having kids in their teens. That means they were having sex by their teens, just like they do today. The difference is that society expected them to get married and have babies.
Romeo & Juliet was written by W. Shakespeare and first published in 1597. While Romeo's age is not known, Juliet was 13 years old. They did consummate their clandestine marriage.
You mention the 50s. You say fewer people divorced and teen pregnancy was rare, as was rape.
Sure, people divorced less because of societal and religious pressures. But that also meant that a lot of marriages were unhealthy with fighting spouses, domestic abuse, etc. Moreover, since many women didn't work, the prospect of divorce would have left them without income or resources.
Teen pregnancy has been around forever. The wealthier girls would go on long vacations to Europe or to stay with an aunt or uncle. The poorer girls would end up in homes for wayward girls. Ireland has a shady and sordid history on this topic - see the Magdalene laundries.
Rape has also been around forever. It's rather frequent in Greek and Roman mythology. It has been used since time immemorial by conquering tribes to subjugate the local population. Rape has always been a stigma. More often than not, the rape victim has always been subjected to ridicule and shame. Hence, to this day, rape is still a majorly underreported crime.
Lastly, on your religion point, I'd like to propose that rape occurs among Christians and that it spares no one. If religion were a consideration, then priests wouldn't be molesting and raping children. Fervent church-goers like Jerry Sandusky would not exist.
Stop teaching teens about sex when they have no business at that age to be thinking about it"? Are you serious? By this age, they have already discovered their bodies on their own and are well aware of sexual urges and satisfying them (don't think your kids masturbate?). Kids need to be taught about sex...Telling them not to do something is not going to work. Open discussions with honesty and making sure they understand things correctly rather than hearing nonsense whispered by others just as clueless as they are is the answer. Teaching about sexually transmitted diseases and using protection to cut down on transmission as well as preventing pregnancy is essential. Never assume that your child would never do something; that is the worst misguidance ever.
This wasn't primarily about sex, anyway. They wanted to hurt and humiliate this girl. Sex was a tool they used to accomplish that goal.
The least that should ever happen to a convicted rapist is physical castration, but most people support the death penalty.
Let's see: the young "lady" in question is "underaged" and was intoxicated. Uuumm. Isn't the drinking age 21 in Ohio? Intoxication is not a legitimate defense for rapists. It should not be a valid reason to make accusations when being "victimized", either.
It's not. Having been victimized is the only "valid reason" required to make an accusation. Intoxication of any party involved, is irrelevant.
There seems to be plenty of evidence that she was slipped a date rape drug, so I think we can stop blaming her for getting drunk and putting herself in a vulnerable position.
Cut the little bastard's penises off!
Really the sleaze bag lawyers defense is that the girl was tied by the wrists and ankles but she wasn't unconscious.....like that is plenty OK way to treat a 16 year old girl....Lets put these YOUNG MEN in with the monsters in India and make it a package deal at the gallows. I am sick and tied of the defense of these scumbags that they couldn't control themselves and she was a willing participant. There is absolutely no excuse for their actions and it shows a complete disregard for human decency. Put them somewhere so they can be a participant with other scumbags and see how they like it.
the parents of all these boys should be beaten as well
There are some things for which horsewhipping in the public square should not be considered cruel and unusual. Raising such monsters is one.