They were convicted over the weekend of raping the 16-year-old girl at a series of parties last summer. They never took the stand but maintained their innocence throughout the process. Text messages described a sex act between one of the defendants and the victim.
Judge Thomas Lipps, after reviewing evidence presented over four days of testimony, found the teens guilty. Tried as minors, Lipps sentenced Mays to a minimum of two years in a juvenile detention center and Richmond to a minimum of one year. Each could be held until they turn 21.
The crime came to light after photos and a video taken on the night of the attack were posted on the Internet. Especially damaging was the cell phone video, which went viral on YouTube and focused attention on the small town of Steubenville, as The Associated Press noted:Â
The case has riveted the small city of Steubenville amid allegations that more students should have been charged and has led to questions about the influence of the popular football team, a source of pride in a community that suffered massive job losses with the collapse of the steel industry.
The girl testified that she recalled drinking alcohol at the first party of the night. She also remembered holding Mays’ hand as she left with him, Richmond and others for the next party. She blacked out, and the next thing she remembered was awaking in the morning lying naked on a sofa in an unfamiliar house, she told the court. She was too embarrassed, she also testified, “to ask what happened that night because I didn’t remember.â€
The Jefferson County Common Pleas Court is expected to convene a grand jury on April 15 to look into whether anyone else participated in the events that night.
In today’s world of heavy social media use, a crime that would have had no evidence except for the word of witnesses was instead videotaped and posted on YouTube, sending it across the Internet.
In this case, social media served as an integral tool for holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.
Tags:
cathy scott, city of steubenville, collapse, criminal investigations, crux, drinking alcohol, football players, high school classmates, judge thomas, judge thomas lipps, juvenile crimes, juvenile detention center, lipps, ma lik, massive job losses, mays, media posts, ohio, rape, rape victim, school star, sex act, social media, steel industry, steubenville, steubenville high school, summer parties, teen drinking, youtube
