Two Steubenville (Oh.) High School
football players accused of raping an allegedly drunk 16-year-old girl were
found guilty by an Ohio judge on Sunday.
Judge Thomas Lipps announced his decision
after reviewing evidence against Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'lik Richmond, 16, who
were tried as juveniles.
The victim was not in the courtroom
when the ruling was read.
ays and Richmond were tried before
Lipps, a visiting judge, without a jury. Mays was also found guilty of disseminating
a nude photo of a minor.
"Human
compassion is not taught by a teacher, a coach or a parent. It is a God-given
gift instilled in all of us," the victim's mother said after court.
"You displayed not only a lack
of compassion, but a lack of any moral code."
The woman said her daughter will
persevere and move on, adding that she has pity for Mays and Richmond, who will
both face tough sentences.
Mays was sentenced to a minimum of
two years in a juvenile correctional facility. Richmond was sentenced to a
minimum of one year. Both could stay there until age 21.
The Department of Youth services
will rule whether the two boys will be detained longer, Lipps said, adding it
will depend on their behavior and rehabilitation.
Mays and Richmond will be credited
for time served before the trial.
The ruling brings an end to a trial
that has gained national attention for its lurid text messages, cell phone
pictures and videos, and social media posts.
A scandalous YouTube video in which Steubenvlle students joked about the rape of the
girl (above) also gained national attention last summer.
According to prosecutors, each of
them penetrated the victim's vagina with his fingers, an act that constitutes
rape under Ohio law if it is not consensual.
Attorneys for the two boys had said
they were not guilty.
At the heart of the case was the
question of whether the victim was too drunk to understand what was happening
to her and to consent to the acts.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine
said more charges in the case could be forthcoming. He intends to call a grand
jury to hear more evidence.
"We cannot bring finality to
this case without convening a grand jury," he said, noting that there were
16 people who had refused to talk to investigators.
He said the accuser was also
re-victimized through social media.
During closing statements on
Saturday, attorneys for the two boys argued the state failed to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that their clients raped the girl.
They also said that an avalanche of
cell pictures and videos and social media posts, as well as national media
coverage ahead of the trial, tainted testimony.
The judge evidently disagreed.
The girl testified Saturday that she
remembered drinking at a big party that night and then holding Mays' hand as
she left with him, Richmond and others.
The next thing she remembers, she
told the court, is waking up naked on a couch in an unfamiliar house, unable to
find her clothes or belongings.
The girl told the court she had a
flashback memory of throwing up in a street somewhere sometime after she left
the first party.
The victim was the 28th and final
witness in a trial that has shone an unwelcome spotlight on Steubenville H.S.
and its "Big Red" football program.
Critics have accused community
leaders and players themselves of trying to paper over rampant misconduct by
members of the highly regarded team.
The case has attracted the attention
of bloggers and even the hacking group Anonymous, but the lead prosecutor
dismissed all of the hype, saying:
"This case is about a
16-year-old girl who was taken advantage of, toyed with and humiliated. And
it's time people who did this to her are held responsible."
Tag THWG
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