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Subscribe to RSSAs two teens from Steubenville, Ohio, begin their juvenile detention sentences after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a teen girl at a party, a grand jury will soon investigate whether others should also be held responsible. NBC's Ron Allen reports and legal analyst Lisa Bloom discusses the case.
The ordeal of an Ohio community roiled by allegations of rape against two high school football players is far from over, despite the teens' conviction for the crime and their sentence to juvenile prison terms.
The announcement of the verdict was barely an hour old Sunday when state Attorney General Mike DeWine said he was continuing his investigation and would consider charges against anyone who failed to speak up after the attack last summer, a group that could include other teens, parents, coaches and school officials.
A grand jury will meet in mid-April to consider evidence gathered by investigators from dozens of interviews, including with the Steubenville football team's 27 coaches.
Text messages introduced at the trial suggested the head coach was aware of the rape allegation early on. DeWine said coaches are among officials required by state law to report child abuse. The coach and the school district have repeatedly declined to comment.
"I've reached the conclusion that this investigation cannot be completed, simply cannot be completed, that we cannot bring finality to this matter without the convening of a grand jury," DeWine said.
The attorney general, Ohio's top law enforcement official, also said the rape was not an isolated problem specific to Steubenville. Sexual assaults occur every Friday and Saturday night across the country, DeWine said, calling it "a societal problem."
Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'Lik Richmond, 16, were sentenced to at least a year in juvenile prison in a case that has rocked this Rust Belt city of 18,000 and led to allegations of a cover-up to protect the Steubenville High team, which has won nine state championships. Mays was ordered to serve an additional year for photographing the underage girl naked.
They can be held until they turn 21.
The two broke down in tears after a Juvenile Court judge delivered his verdict. They later apologized to the victim and the community, Richmond struggling to speak through his sobs.
"My life is over," he said as he collapsed in the arms of his lawyer.
The crime, which took place after a party last summer, shocked many in Steubenville because of the seeming callousness with which other students took out their cellphones to record the attack and gossiped about it online. In fact, the case came to light via a barrage of morning-after text messages, social media posts and online photos and video.
"Many of the things we learned during this trial that our children were saying and doing were profane, were ugly," Judge Thomas Lipps said.
Mays and Richmond were charged with penetrating the West Virginia girl with their fingers, first in the back seat of a moving car after a mostly underage drinking party on Aug. 11, and then in the basement of a house.
"They treated her like a toy," prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter said.
Prosecutors argued that the victim was so intoxicated she couldn't consent to sex that night, while the defense contended the girl realized what she was doing and was known to lie.
The girl testified she could not recall what happened but woke up naked in a strange house after drinking at a party.
"It was really scary," she said. "I honestly did not know what to think because I could not remember anything."
She said she believed she was assaulted when she later read text messages among friends and saw a photo of herself naked, along with a video that made fun of her and the alleged attack.
Three other boys, two of them on the football team, saw something happening that night and didn't try to stop it but instead recorded it with their cellphones. Granted immunity to testify, they confirmed the girl was assaulted and said she was so drunk she didn't seem to know what was happening.
Evidence at the trial also included sexually explicit text messages sent by numerous students after the party. Lawyers noted how texts have seemed to replace talking on the phone for young people. A computer forensic expert documented hundreds of thousands of texts found on 17 phones seized during the investigation.
In sentencing the boys, Lipps urged parents and others "to have discussions about how you talk to your friends, how you record things on the social media so prevalent today and how you conduct yourself when drinking is put upon you by your friends."
After the arrests, the case was furiously debated on blogs and social media, with some people warning of conspiracies and conflicts of interest. On Sunday, Hemmeter, the prosecutor, criticized efforts by the hacker collective Anonymous to publicize the case, saying the attention had a chilling effect on those willing to testify.
After the verdict, the accuser's mother rebuked the boys for "lack of any moral code."
"You were your own accuser, through the social media that you chose to publish your criminal conduct on," she said. She added that the case "does not define who my daughter is. She will persevere, grow and move on."
Echoing that, the judge said that "as bad as things have been for all of the children involved in this case, they can all change their lives for the better."
___
Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus
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You have got to be kidding or the lord king of trolls.
2 trolls were found guilty and now find remorse. How convenient. Lock them up and all the coaches that knew about this. By the way; They have 27 football coaches! Not enough teachers in schools but we've got 1 coach for every 3 players. 27 coaches to pump out outstanding citizens like these 2 savages.
I did not see what rockin' moron wrote but, it doesn't surprise me that he was deleted from reading his BS posts in the past.
On another note, if this were my daughter, these punks would be lucky that the cops got to them before I did.
What part of going to jail for rape that was recorded and performed in front of a bunch of kids do they not understand before hand?! WTF man...
Just like the rest of the perps out there. It's all fun and exciting until they get sentenced. Then they all stand there and cry how sorry and remorseful they are. Boo Fk'n hoo......
You got that right tough guy. Register under Megan's Law and have to live with that, the rest of your life kid. Hope it was worth bustin' a nut.
For the girl's self righteous mother to lecture the rapists when she had no idea where her 16 year old drunk daughter was is little over the top. This case is all about a failure on the part of all the parents involved to know where their kids were and what they were doing. They should all be ashamed and anyone who bought liquor for them should be charged. Anyone who covered this up should be charged.
So, not knowing where her daughter was is a worse crime than rape? You are a sad person but don't be upset, I know a middle eastern religion you'd fit right into..
They'll let you stone the girl to death and let the guys off with a warning.. That should cheer you up a little.
Katy did not say anywhere in her post that not knowing where your child is, is worse than rape. What she did say, and I totally agree, is that this mother is acting like her daughter is totally and completely innocent - as if she were grabbed off the street and raped. I am not suggesting (nor, I believe is Katy), that those boys, and anyone else who contributed to this, should not be held responsible. Those boys and anyone who video taped, or even saw it and didn't report it, are very guilty. There is no excuse for what they did, and it is far worse than getting really drunk.
But, being the mother of a 21 y/o daughter myself, I can't understand why anyone isn't critizing this girl for being irresponsible enough to get so drunk. We all, each and every one of us, have a responsiblity to protect ourselves when we can. I talked with my daughter from a very young age about the dangers of drinking and drugs. I understand peer pressure can be overwhelming, but some kids will say "no thank you" and not take that first drink. We as parents owe it to our kids to teach them to be self confident enough to not cave into that sort of pressure. To be firm in their beliefs.
Again, saying all of this, I do not in any way excuse what those boys did, what the bystanders did or what the coaches did in covering it up. It is sickening and shows a clear lack of values and priorities amongst those people, especially the adults, who should know better.
Katy, I hope you know where your kids are ALL THE TIME HA! HA!, good luck. Watch them 24/7. They will HATE you for it.
In this day and age, we need to take some responsibility for our own healthcare and safety. I shouldn't have to lock my doors when I leave my house, because no one SHOULD rob me. But the reality is, someone WILL rob me. People who say a girl should be able to dress any way she wants, get as drunk as she wants and nothing bad should happen to her are right. But chances are something bad WILL happen. Shame on those boys for what they did, but a 16 year old underage girl should not be passed out drunk. She is putting herself in an extremely dangerous situation. And since we can't depend on people to do the right thing, we need to take care not to put ourselves in vulnerable situations.
Spaceman isn't just twisting Katy's words, he stuffed her mouth full of garbage she did not say.....may need to work on that reading comprehension spaceman.....but I do see where you get your name from.
Katy - So it is not okay for the mother of the victim to comment to the criminals because she didn't know where here daughter was? Where are your comments demeaning the parents of the criminals for not knowing where their boys were and that they were raping an unconscious girl?
Talk about real remorse. <sarc> He is worried about what will happen to him rather than what will hapen to her. Hopefully, he will learn the real meaning of rape. If the other inmates hold their hands over his mouth so he can't say "no" will that negate the claims of rape?
So much for that promising football career unless he was in training to become a pro football player - where crime is ignored.
Although I can understand people's inclination to question the mother of the victim I would try and spend a day in her shoes because not only was it the actions of the two boys who raped her daughter, but the complete humiliation and defamation that occurred. Many mother's have been in the unfortunate position where their daughter is accused of being a "slut". There are not many mothers that have had to deal with having numerous photos of her naked vulnerable daughter being "played with" and victimized all over the internet as a joke.
Hey, Steubenville ----- TWENTY SEVEN coaches for the football team ? REALLY ? How many educational mentors does the school carry ? Clearly, Steubenville has a distorted sense of priorities. Holding high school and college sports in such high esteem contributes significantly to the detriment of the school, town and the state of Ohio. This particular abhorrent situation is not isolated by any means. It is just the latest FLAGRANT EXAMPLE of how our very values in this country have become so distorted.
There are many other similar districts and programs which all too sadly reflect just how low our values have fallen. As for those who witnessed or even knew of the horrific episode, they SHOULD AND NEED, to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This is yet another example of how low our society has become. Dino would be ashamed of all who chose NOT to step up and do, or at the VERY LEAST, say, something.
The girl told her mother she was going to a sleepover at another girl's house.
Please stop blaming the victim and the victim's family. Yes, it was not smart to get completely drunk, but many of us did that or equally stupid things when we were 16. However, not many of us have urinated on someone, taken and posted naked photos of someone, sexually molested an underage girl, or stood by, watching and laughing, while someone is being abused.
I think all those boys who were urging each other to urinate on her should be prosecuted for abuse.
I have great parents who raised me correctly and I have turned out just fine. I left the house every Friday and Saturday night as a teen to go hang out with friends and do what all teens do. Did my parents know where I was every second of the night? No, not even close. For you to point a finger at this mother for chiding her daughters rapists is beyond disgusting.
Moron.
Rockin - it is rape if someone (boy or girl) does not give consent! It doesn't matter if the boy/girl man/woman slept around or how someone dresses - rape is rape! They penetrated that girl without her consent! The two "perp's" had a history of this type of behavior - treating women/girls like objects. You do not know what type of girl the victim is - you are assuming.
Absolutley correct that what these 2 monsters did was horrible. What they did was heinous and they should be severely punished. However should we send the message that this young lady is 100% innocent and without any personal responsibility? Let's look at what she chose to do: she lied to her mother, joined up with a bunch of horndog football players and got blasted outta her mind drunk with them. She may as well stuck her head in the mouth of a giant alligator and tickled its tounge. While we need to make an example of the football players for their terrible behavior towards a 16 year old girl, we also need to use her example of poor choices that put her right in the path of an oncoming train. Our young ladies need to be taught that getting drunk doesn't exhonorate their behavior while their under the influence. Hormonally charged boys + drugs/alcohol = a bad situation for a girl of any age to put herself into.
The town's worship of the football program is pretty evident if they have 27 football coaches for a high school football team. I wonder how many math, English, history, and science teachers they have. But that environment tends to give the teenage boys the impression that they can get away with anything, that they are immune from punishment for their wrongdoing. Considering what could have happened to them, they are quite fortunate. They could have been convicted as adults, and been given real prison terms.
But the parents of all the teenagers at that party should be charged with neglect for not having proper control of their kids.
Also, there is some involvement by the Ohio State Athletic Department. Investigators carried out cartons of something from Ohio State offices after the grand jury indictment. Ohio State appears to be paying at least part of the defense of the football players and the coaches. Is this the beginning of another Paterno affair?
I do feel sorry for the boys. They will be labeled sex offenders for the rest of their life. They will have their driver's license annotated and will have their choice of place of residence very, very limited. Girl friends will be very limited. And until they die, their face and name will be all over the internet for all to see. A few hours of bad behgavior can sometimes yield a lifetime in which to repent.
But I feel more sorry for the young woman. There will be a scar on her future trust and sexual relationships. How limiting the scar is will depend on the young woman, but like going to war, the scar will always be there.
The castigation of the parents of the girls is somewhat unwarranted as far as I can see. This was a well-orchestrated thing that was condoned by the huge coaching staff to promote "team spirit." Often the girls who attended were well aware that they weould be expected to "put out" for the team. The coverup was huge with as many as 27 coaches, and a very large number of adults and football players who impeded the investigation, destroyed evidence, bought booze for minors, set up drunken parties for the football team, etc. There will be huge reprecussions and a prime recruiting ground for Ohio State football will likely be destroyed.
27 football coaches in this day of budget cuts is insane! I wonder how many teachers were laid off to keep this coaching staff intact.
Personally I sex offenders should have it tattooed across their forehead so everyone will see it and they can never escape it. She will never escape the memories
Many high schools DO treat sports, esp. football, as an elitist society within the school., and it appears as though colleges do as well. Note that football coaches are often the HIGHEST paid staff member of colleges and universities across our nation, more than even the president of the university draws! Our high school had a ridiculous amount of coaches and only offered ONLINE spanish for all students. It is a mockery of the system and priorities that should strive to help educate students that plan to attend college. Now that the scientific permanent damage of concussions on juveniles is documented and reaching the public, perhaps the parents that need to be analyzed are the parents of football players. I have seen parents who actually live their lives through the sports games of their children. Schools should be about academics. These young football players gain fame in their small community and think they are very special, above the law perhaps. Their school, the coaches, their "fans" and their parents may very well have contributed to that mindset. What they did is depraved, but they still, even then, had support? It is a sad commentary on sports and culture in these sad little towns especially that chose football as the end all and be all.....
Chris 749..., the kids will not be carrying "sex offender" status the rest of their lives. The plea deal was for JUVENILE SEX OFFENDER status. Which means, when they hit 21, the records will be expunged. They got a great deal.
Chris you feel sorry for the rapists? Really? Really? How sorry would you feel if that was your daughter? GIVE ME A BREAK! I feel sorry, sorry they weren't tried as adults and given real time in a real prison!!!!!!!!!!!
a drunk 16 year old young lady (kid, no), and high school football players (kids, no), and others......trying to stop the violence from happening? No.....they were yukking it up, taking "warm, school memories" with their cell phones. And a possible coverup, by one of the coaches......where have we heard about a coach coverup before?
This is not a small, insignificant incident. It is a breakdown of morals for a large part of an entire community. but, should we be surprised? No.....thinking about the "evils" that have been purged from our schools, of late. (I guess we choose these types of evils, i.e. rape, lying, coverup, as opposed to the evils of prayer and the Ten Commandants being posted.) And, already one on this post has suggested that it goes on in other communities, as well. Great!!! Let's not rejoice in a small evil. Let's get really happy that this type of behavior is happening all across America. Expect more, and worse, American people. We have asked for it.
27 football coaches! I'm a teacher of a school about the same size and we barely have 27 teachers in the CORE subjects of Math, Science, LA, and History. If you don't think people worship athletes and sports, explain to me why college coaches can make millions while the average college teacher makes $50,000 a year. We are a nation that has lost its way because of distorted values and greed. Those distorted values place athletes on pedestals. My parents used to say: "Treat a child as if they were a god and you will most likely create a devil." I think they were wiser than I knew.
27 coaches???????????? In a town of 18,000????????? Holy Cow. and our football team staffs the concession stand for basketball games so they can buy new varsity jerseys. Not uniforms. Just jerseys. I wonder how much is paid out every year for those coaches. I'm sorry - I just can't get past that one statistic.
This is an absolute American tragedy! It's all too common, that small town support of local teams has lead to a form of religion where the sport-jocks are given god-like status!
In the Steubenville, Ohio case, the negative consequences of this has been unchecked criminal behaviors!! The real concern for me is when these immature, don't have a clue about limits students, enter the college/university domain, thinking that life is all about them! Disrespect for female students and cheating on exams is no big deal to these types - "Eat, drink, sc... and be merry, for tomorrow we graduate" seems to be their mantra!
In the final analysis an indicting statement/question comes to the fore: Where were the parents and adults in these communities, with such things occurring under their noses!!?
When it is your daughter, sister or mother that this happens to then let's see your reaction and how much you call her a slut. And don't even think this would never happen to them. You can pretend that you and your family are perfect but it is those that cast such judgements on others that are the farthest from perfect. Drunk or not, the fact that this was videoed and forwarded and laughed about is enough of a crime. There was no joke here.
You are correct JC, there was no joke. In fact, I don't think justice was competely done either. I am glad to see the AG is convening a grand jury to hear everything. I just wonder how many more might be charged. IMO, all the ones there are guilty of aiding and abetting the crime. None of them tried to stop it, none of them actually called the cops about it.
If this was my sister, all I can say is that some people would have to be very nervous when the hammer, so to speak, falls on them. I would get revenge, not right away, but a year or two later, when most of this is forgotten, oh yes, payback! And it would be worse than what happened.
New indictments should include anyone who was a witness, anyone who learned about it or anyone who took part and did not inform law enforcement. Regardless of the reputations of anyone involved, the act was illegal and everyone involved should know the consequences. It's not a game, despite how they were raised.
If Obama had fathered a couple of sons.......................
@Mark
Yes, and they would look like, and be as stupid as you............
Steubenville football team's 27 coaches?
What !!
These two morons, a few months ago, were probably high fiveing each other and laughing and saying "Cool, we got some pussy!"
Now they can spend their next year or so in jail high fiveing each other thinking that they are tough little SOB's!
They probably got pussy everytime they looked in the mirror, Eldon....
This is a symptom of a diseased society, where the rights of women are looked down on, and being male instantly grants to the privilege to abuse and subjugate any female.
This is the mindset of the right-wing and religious fundamentalists, and the agenda they are fighting to protect. It is pure GOP morality.
PatriotM-What the hell is wrong with you.This has nothing to do with the GOP,Obama,or politics at all.
Your post is pure bull%#@*!
Patriot.....What? You my sir are anything but a Patriot....what an absolute dolt. I would be embarrassed if I were you.
PatriotM wrote, "This is the mindset of the right-wing and religious fundamentalists, and the agenda they are fighting to protect. It is pure GOP morality." I guess that explains why the conservative Republican Attorney General of Ohio had to seize jurisdiction from the City of Steubenville's liberal Democratic mayor and city council majority who refused to pursue a proper investigation, prosecution and conviction of this crime.
PatriotM wrote, "This is a symptom of a diseased society, where the rights of women are looked down on, and being male instantly grants to the privilege to abuse and subjugate any female. This is the mindset of the right-wing and religious fundamentalists, and the agenda they are fighting to protect. It is pure GOP morality."
That's quite an observation and conclusion, PatriotM - I guess that explains why the conservative Republican Ohio Attorney General had to step in and seize jurisdiction away from the liberal Democratic Mayor and majority City Council of Steubenville who refused to investigate, prosecute and pursue convictions for these heinous crimes against a woman.
PatriotM wrote, "This is a symptom of a diseased society, where the rights of women are looked down on, and being male instantly grants to the privilege to abuse and subjugate any female. This is the mindset of the right-wing and religious fundamentalists, and the agenda they are fighting to protect. It is pure GOP morality."
That's quite an observation and conclusion, PatriotM. I suppose that's why the State of Ohio's Attorney General (a conservative Republican) had to step in and seize jurisdiction over this case away from the City of Steubinville's Mayor and City Council majority (all liberal Dermocrats) who refused to investigate, prosecute and pursue convictions for these heinous crimes against this young woman.
And this from a party (GOP) that says womens bodies can protect themselves from legitmate rape and rape is bleesing from GOD mentality!!
mike-2498843 wrote "And this from a party (GOP) that says womens bodies can protect themselves from legitmate rape and rape is bleesing from GOD mentality!!"
Show some courage and cite your source(s), mike-2498843 - and don't cite some obscure candidate who couldn't even win a general election - those are a dime-a-dozen and neither political party gives them any credit.
One of the men quoted above said, "my life is over"...what a bunch of self-pity! Even after the sentencing, he still got it wrong. No, it's not about you! It's about your victim. I wonder if prison time will help him understand that.
A year will be easy compared to what the victim has endured and will have to endure from family and freinds of the "criminals" after all they are the town heros and how dare you defame them!!
I think it's ridiculous that our World thinks such less of women that even after a guilty verdict, I KNEW I would read comments STILL defending these ignorant boys and the teenagers who just looked on and videotaped it. I can't imagine what the 16 year old girl is going through and how she will EVER move on. Her mom had to say that to demonstrate strength but I wouldn't be suprised if the teenaged girl commits suicide or abuses drugs/alcohol to self-medicate in her future to come. I hope the teenaged girl does not endure anymore pain and she'll probably be able to get through this if her parents get her into counseling NOW. She WILL need help. Even if the girl was a slut, no one should be treated the way she was. Left naked in a random house. Who knows if nothing else happened to her? The 16 year old girl is STILL a child and if anyone saw her naked on video or in pictures, they are looking at child pornography. This is why Mays got more time for taking pictures of her naked. People just DON'T get it.
What ever happened to trusting one another, especially children who go to school together with everyday. Not ONE could stand up for her???? If I can't trust my classmates, the school staff and my neighbors...who the h*ll can I trust??? This whole story disgusts me to no end and I applaud the judge for SO QUICKLY finding Mays and Richmond guilty.
I am equally appalled that 3 of the male witnesses who probably touched themselves while videotaping the rape received immunity in exchange for their testimonies. I wanted to see MORE children punished for what they did (and didn't) do. I am SO SICK of children feeling like because they are minors, there are NO consequences. I think OUR SOCIETY teaches children that they are too young to know better. These boys were ALMOST MEN. So what if they didn't get caught in high school, one of them was ONE YEAR away from being an adult who probably would have went off to college and did the SAME THING if not worse. Playing football at that level, would there have been another Penn State-type coverup to protect him? I can't imagine how many boys/men are doing what they want and are protected just because they play some silly sport. So football is more important than a woman's rights????
Our children are going to grow into adults who won't (not don't but WON'T) understand the importance of doing what's right. Don't we ALL just want to do what we want to do? Should I get to go into a store and take some Manolo Blahniks because I just have to have a pair? Can I stop paying my rent and going to work because I don't feel like it? Please! Pretty, pretty please!!! Can I punch some guy on the street because he's staring at me too long? Let me just do what I want to do! Because that's how it really works. That is what we are teaching our children. That other people's feelings don't matter. That if they do something wrong, they are NOT to be held accountable because at 16 and 17...yea, they don't know any better. Yea, OK.
And the idiots who cannot focus long enough on this case to come up with theoretical stories of how things would be "different" if two girls did this to a boy, YOU ARE FULL OF IT! Half the men I know say they LIKE to be used as a piece of meat. Men let on like they think it is funny when women "abuse" them. Are women really a threat to men? I mean...REALLY. Two teenage girls a threat to one boy...and you're saying he wouldn't like it? First of all...that would be news to me that that ISN'T every boy's (and man's) fantasy. Secondly, if the boy DOES feel like he was raped, the girls would get the same treatment. Rape is rape. If there was that MUCH video footage...girls on camera saying the boy looks dead and he wakes up naked in a strange house....if he WANTS to press charges then do it and see those girls get the same sentence. And if the girls didn't get the same sentence, it's probably because females don't rape males often. The judge is CLEARLY fed up and making an example of these boys because this situation happens waaayyyyyy too often. And if you want to live in denial about how often females are raped, you keep staying there while other people have a continuous outcry of this kind of behavior will NOT be tolerated.
Nevertheless, people LOVE to scream for equality when it suits them. Match my pay to male counterparts, make men carry the baby for 9 months, have men NOT get favoritism for jobs just because of their gender, have boys/men get a "reputation" as a "slut" when they screw every girl in their middle AND high school....when everything becomes COMPLETELY equal...PLEASE PLEASE come talk to me!
The boys got exactly what they deserved and I look forward to seeing more people get punished for covering up the rape. This was child abuse in every manner. If teachers can be in parents' business when they are just trying to discipline their child then they better well had be called to the carpet for knowing about what happened to the 16 year old and saying nothing. 27 coaches????? Yea, they really knew nothing. Uh huh. 1000s of texts and I really believe that the coaches were oblivious to their players' raping and drinking at a small town's party. Uh huh. Give me another story because I'm just not stupid enough to believe that one.
And I, especially, want to see more children punished who thought the treatment of this female was OK. STOP BLAMING THE ADULTS! The children were there. They were drinking underaged. The children performed the bad behavior. STOP USING ADULTS AS SCAPEGOATS. If any adults are charged with a crime, more children need to be charged too. I wish they would somehow figure out a way to charge the boys who they promised immunity. Not fair that they are walking away with no punishment. It is about time that this wayward generation learns how to act like they have some d*mn sense. And if they choose not to....they need to learn like you would teach a 2 year old, that there ARE CONSEQUENCES FOR EVERYONE'S ACTIONS and those consequences WILL BE ENFORCED!
I agree except for 1 point. Those coachs, or at least one coach knew about this. He is an adult, and he also needs to be punished. Not only does he have a legal obligation to report the abuse, he also has a moral obligation. He set some back examples for other kids, and he needs to most strick punishment he can legally receive.
Make an example out of him, it will make other adults stop and think before trying to cover things up. The coach is not a SCAPEGOAT, IMO, he is just as guilty as those others are.
I agree Mom, however, I don't think a polemic was necessary. What happened was criminal, the 'boys' should have been tried as adults. But in a football-obsessed town, well, a jury probably would have found them either not guilty or guilty of a much lesser charge. It's also good to see that the state AG is convening a Grand Jury. Parents, other young men and women, all should be charged and convicted if at all possible.
I was taught (and I'm 65) that just because a person can't say no, or says no, then walk away as fast as possible. No is no, drunk to the point of being passed out is on her, her 'friends', her parents and of course the at least one coach as well as any adult that had knowledge. Seems to me that everyone in that hellish town knows at least one person who knew and it is an indictment on them all.
That's all that needs to be said. Other than these two young men didn't receive nearly enough sentence.
The issue in this small town is allowing under age drinking.
Not really. Under age drinking happens everywhere and isn't "allowed," whether you want to admit it or not.
The issue is rape.
One issue was rape - now settled (although I believe too leniently).
Other issues remain: underage drinking, adult-supplied alcohol to minors, coach hosting underage drinking, failure to report a crime, child porn distribution (via social media) . . .
Thank you state AG de Wine. Here's hoping the grand jury does a thorough job.
Why aren't teens looking out for each other? If other's saw that the girl was passed out, why didn't someone say, "leave her alone" instead of them texting her later to tell her she was a slut. Why don't they know that you don't treat people like that, even if you don't particularly like them?
This brings to mind another story from several years ago of a football player who was drunk at a party at someone's home. He fell and hit his head. The kids at the party couldn't revive him so a couple of hours after he was hurt, they took him to the hospital and left him there anonymously and he died. Everyone at the party had a cell phone but because they were under aged drinkers, they let their friend die because they didn't want to get into trouble. Nothing happened to any of them because it wasn't a law that you were required to call for help.
Someone needs to tell teens it's okay to help each other.
These are questions to ask the parents of the kids...what values have they taught them? Courage and morality need to be the first principles instilled in a child.
Seventeen cell phones were seized during the investigation? Three boys witnessed this rape? I would be mortified if my son just sat back and shot video. Apparently, in Steubenville, they are better at building football players than they are at building men.
If they had raped this girl at the Democratic National Convention they would be praised as heroes of the left,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,just like Rob Lowe.
If they had been democrat congressman and raped her,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Obama would praise them.
If the attackers were left leaning Hollywood types, they would live their lives as heroes in Europe.
If only they had Bill Clinton's help in the attack,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,this would be a non-issue.
Democrats,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it is only rape when it benefits them politically.
you are an idot!!!
You are a total idiot
You can call me names,,,,,,,,,,,,but you cannot possibly call me "wrong".
If one of those kids had been a Kennedy cousin, this would never see the light of day.
Good post here on 5 ways Steubenville occurred and 5 ways to prevent it:
blog.medfriendly.com/2013/03/5-reasons-steubenville-occured-and-5.html
It's rape. Unless clear consent is given it is rape lack of resistance is not consent. Being intoxicated and unable to think clearly means she cannot give clear consent. This girl was raped plain and simpl. I understand the rapists are juvenilles but when you commit an adult crime you should pay with an adult sentence. This sentence sent no clear message to deter this from happening again. Asentence of sufficent enough time to leave them in prison throughout the prime of their lives would have been better. That would have sent a message maybe she can do something in civil court that will hold these boys and their families accountable
I'm wondering how many of these teens paid for their cell phones on their own. I'm willing to bet that a great many of them are paid for by their parents. Who pays for the registration and insurance on the vehicle that the first attack took place? Again I'm thinking some kids parents. What amazes me is that most of these kids STILL have access to the very things that made this nightmare national news. Texts were still being made long after parents knew at the very least lewd and innappropriate behavior occurred (we now know criminal). It took the police to confiscate these phones to get them away from these teens. Completely Incompetent parenting. Imagine if Trent Mays phone was taken away from him by his parents(or whoever paid the bill) after the incident occurred. It wouldn't erase what he did but it may have at least given him a clue that it was wrong. Instead a judge had to teach him a lesson he will live with for the rest of his life.
Steubenville football team's 27 coaches? They really need to eliminate school sports and focus on the core studies.
Plenty of blame to go around...it starts with the adults..and hopefully the grand jury will come down with more indictments....What adults were present at the homes if any?, The head coach( thru evidence presented) apparently "took care of it"...I take that to mean attempted cover up and he should face charges, what happened to curfews? My kids have a time when they have to be home set by my wife and I....Then there is the segment of the town that glorified the "big red" giving these kids the right to do anything they wanted.
Now WTRF tv Weirton is reporting that the victim received a death threat posted on facebook..."You ripped my family apart you made my ....cry, so when I see you......it's gonna be a homicide"
Example of what the investigators are dealing with...this person when found should be tried and sentenced to adult prison for teroristic threats
Here is the link: