The Steubenville High School rape occurred in
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a ...
on the night of August11, 2012, when a high school girl, incapacitated by alcohol, was publicly and repeatedly
sexually assaulted by her peers, several of whom documented the acts on
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
. The victim was transported, undressed, photographed, and sexually assaulted. She was also penetrated vaginally by other students' fingers (digital penetration), an act defined as rape under
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
law.
The callous attitude of the assailants was documented on Facebook, Twitter,
text messages
Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/ laptops, or another type of compatible comput ...
, and cell phone recordings of the acts. The crime and ensuing legal proceedings generated considerable controversy and galvanized a national conversation about rape and
rape culture
Rape culture is a setting, studied by several sociological theories, in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality. Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, slut-s ...
. Two students and
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
players, Ma'lik Richmond and Trent Mays, both 16 at the time of the crime, were convicted in juvenile court for the
rape of a minor. Additionally, three other adults have been indicted for obstructing the investigation into the rape, while Steubenville's superintendent of schools was charged with hindering the investigation into a rape that took place earlier in 2012.
Crime
In the early morning hours of August12, 2012, two high school football players, Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, used their fingers to rape a 16-year-old girl from
Weirton, West Virginia
Weirton () is a city in Brooke and Hancock counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located primarily in Hancock County, the city lies in the northern portions of the state's Northern Panhandle region. As of the 2020 census, the city's pop ...
.
In the days following the digital rape, according to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', Mays "seemed to try to orchestrate a cover-up, telling a friend, 'Just say she came to your house and passed out and pleading with the victim not to press charges.
[
Ohio investigators confiscated and analyzed 15cellphones and two tablets, collecting hundreds of text messages from dozens of students, and interviewed almost 60people, including students, coaches, school officials and parents.]
The victim testified in court that she had no memory of the six-hour period in which the digital rape occurred, except for a brief time at the second location in which she was vomiting on the street. She said she woke up the next morning naked in a basement living room with Mays, Richmond and another teenage boy, missing her underwear, flip-flops, phone and earrings.[
The evidence presented in court mainly consisted of hundreds of text messages and cellphone pictures that had been taken by more than a dozen people at the parties and afterwards traded with other students and posted to ]social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
sites such as Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
, and YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, and which were described by the judge as "profane and ugly".[
In a photograph posted on Instagram by Steubenville High football player Cody Saltsman, the victim was shown looking unresponsive, being carried by two teenage boys by her wrists and ankles. Former Steubenville Student Michael Nodianos, responded with a fictional monologue of the event, tweeted "Some people deserve to be peed on", which was retweeted later by several people, including Mays. In a 12-minute video later posted to YouTube, Nodianos and others talk about what they think is going to happen with Jane Doe, with Nodianos joking that "they raped her quicker than Mike Tyson raped that one girl" and "They peed on her. That's how you know she's dead, because someone pissed on her". While he did not sexually assault the victim himself, Nodianos, a scholarship student at ]Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
at the time news of the rape broke, received numerous threats for his comments, as did his family in Steubenville, and subsequently dropped out of school. In one text, Mays described the victim as "like a dead body" and "deader than Caylee Anthony
Caylee Marie Anthony (August 9, 2005 – June-December 2008) was an American girl who lived in Orlando, Florida, with her mother, Casey Marie Anthony (born March 19, 1986), and her maternal grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony. On July 1 ...
" and in another he told the victim that a photo of her lying naked in a basement had been taken by him. In a text message to a friend afterwards, he said "I shoulda raped her now that everybody thinks I did", but "she wasn't awake enough".[
On March17, 2013, Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond were convicted of digital rape after the trial judge found they had used their fingers to digitally penetrate the victim's vagina and that it was impossible for the incapacitated girl to have given consent.][
]
Public reaction
The case garnered nationwide attention after it was prominently covered in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', in part for the role of social media in its development. Several individuals publicized the event using Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and text messages. Video and photo evidence reveal that the girl was sexually assaulted over the course of several hours. The video and photo evidence showed her to be unconscious. Some members of the community blamed the girl for her own rape and blamed her for casting a negative light on the football team and town.
Criticism has also been placed upon media outlets themselves, especially CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
. During the course of the delinquent verdict on March17, 2013, CNN's Poppy Harlow
Poppy Harlow (born Katharine Julia Harlow; May 2, 1982) is an American journalist, best known for her reporting at CNN and Forbes.com. She is an anchor of CNN This Morning and is based at CNN's New York news bureau. She was previously co-anchor o ...
stated that it was "incredibly difficult, even for an outsider like me, to watch what happened as these two young men that had such promising futures, star football players, very good students, literally watched as they believed their lives fell apart ... when that sentence came down, a'likcollapsed in the arms of his attorney. ... He said to him, 'My life is over. No one is going to want me now. Candy Crowley
Candy Alt Crowley (born December 26, 1948) is an American news anchor who was employed as CNN's chief political correspondent, specializing in American national and state elections. She was based in CNN's Washington, D.C. bureau and was the anc ...
and Paul Callan were also criticized for their lack of focus on the victim and their sympathy for the rapists.
In early broadcasts on March17, 2013, CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
and MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
aired unedited footage that revealed the first name of the rape victim during one of the students' post-conviction statements after the guilty disposition was announced. This practice is against the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
guidelines for coverage. These media outlets redacted the name in subsequent broadcasts. Her first name also appeared temporarily in documents leaked by Anonymous.
Congressman Bill Johnson of Ohio's 6th congressional district, which includes Steubenville, issued a statement on January 7, 2013. In the statement, Johnson said, "As the father of two daughters and grandfather of four granddaughters, had something like what is being alleged here have happened to one of my loved ones, I would be demanding justice to the fullest extent of the law". He stated he was in contact with State Attorney General Mike DeWine about the incident, and was confident that the state and local authorities were competently handling the case. On March17, after the verdict he stated: "This has been a tragic ordeal. Lives have been forever changed because of the reprehensible acts committed by the young men involved. Now that they've been held accountable in court, I'm hopeful that the Steubenville community will begin the difficult process of healing".
Leaked evidence
On December24, 2012, following national newspaper coverage, the hacker collective Anonymous and other hackers threatened to reveal the names of other unindicted alleged participants. In December 2012, KnightSec, an offshoot of Anonymous, hacked an unaffiliated website, posting a demand for an apology by school officials and local authorities, who had allegedly covered up the incident in order to protect the athletes and school's program. KnightSec followed up their December hack on January1, 2013, posting a video featuring the "self-proclaimed 'rape crew' from the night of the attack, making jokes about what had happened".[''The Atlantic Wire'']
Everything You Need to Know About Steubenville High's Football 'Rape Crew'
. January 3, 2013. There are allegations that more people participated in the incident. One of the hackers was later indicted under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA) is a United States cybersecurity bill that was enacted in 1986 as an amendment to existing computer fraud law (), which had been included in the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. The law pro ...
. Deric Lostutter, who donned a Guy Fawkes mask
The Guy Fawkes mask (also known as the ''V for Vendetta'' mask or Anonymous mask) is a stylised depiction of Guy Fawkes (the best-known member of the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt to blow up the House of Lords in London on 5November 1605) created ...
and was interviewed by CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, was later raided by the FBI with a warrant targeting his involvement in the hacking of a site, even though somebody else acknowledged being responsible for the hacking.
''Saltsman v. Goddard''
''Saltsman v. Goddard'' concerned an effort by the parents of Cody Saltsman, a teenage boy from Steubenville, to stop blogger Alexandria Goddard's website from publishing allegedly defamatory posts about their son. The parents sued Goddard and a dozen anonymous posters in October 2012; a legal blogger labeled it a SLAPP
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with ...
suit. The lawsuit asked for an injunction against the blogger, a public apology stating that the boy was not involved in the rape and $25,000 in damages. The ACLU became involved on behalf of Goddard and the anonymous posters. Most of the specific statements outlined in the Saltsman's lawsuit did not rise to the level of defamation as alleged. The majority of local anonymous posters named in the lawsuit via their online nametag perceived this lawsuit as merely an avenue to learn their identity. The case was dismissed with prejudice
Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...
in December 2012 after Goddard agreed to post a statement that the boy was remorseful about his role in the aftermath of the Steubenville High School rape case.
Trial and sentencing
On March17, 2013, Judge Thomas Lipps tried Mays and Richmond as juveniles and adjudicated them " delinquent beyond reasonable doubt", the juvenile equivalent of a guilty verdict. Each defendant received a mandated minimum sentence, with the possibility of remaining in juvenile detention until age 21. The judge set a minimum sentence of one year for Richmond, who was found guilty of penetrating the girl while she was unconscious. Mays, who was found guilty of penetrating the girl while she was unconscious and disseminating pornographic pictures of her, was given a minimum sentence of two years. Because the girl was a minor, Mays was charged with and convicted of the dissemination of child pornography
Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a ...
, which is the reason for his additional year in juvenile detention. Initially, it was reported that whether or not Mays and Richmond will be added to the sex offender registry
A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions, registration i ...
depends on a future hearing to evaluate their behavior once they have turned 21. However, both were classified "Tier II" (medium) offenders. Ma'lik Richmond was released from detention on January5, 2014. Trent Mays was released in January 2015.
Charges against adults
The nature of the case led to accusations that coaches and school officials knew about the rape and failed to report it. For example, several texts entered into evidence during the trial implied that Steubenville head coach Reno Saccoccia was trying to cover for the players, which led to nationwide outrage after he received a new contract as the district's administrative services director. In response, shortly after the sentences were handed down, then Ohio Attorney General
The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost.
History
The office of the attor ...
Mike DeWine announced he would empanel a special grand jury to determine whether other crimes were committed—specifically, whether coaches and other school officials failed to report the rape even though Ohio law makes them mandated reporter
In many parts of the western world, a mandated reporter is a person who has regular contact with vulnerable people and is therefore legally required to ensure a report is made when abuse is observed or suspected. Specific details vary across jurisd ...
s.
The panel began meeting in April 2013. On October8, 2013, the grand jury returned the first indictment of an adult in the case. William Rhinaman, the IT director for Steubenville City Schools, was charged with one count each of tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other gov ...
, obstruction of a public official and grand jury perjury. In February 2015, Rhinaman, under a deal reached with prosecutors, pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing official business. He was sentenced to 90days in jail, 80days of which were suspended provided he completes one year of community control.
On November25, 2013, DeWine announced a second round of indictments. Another alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl occurring in April 2012 had come to light, leading to grand jury charges. The highest-profile indictment in relation to this earlier alleged rape was that of Steubenville City Schools superintendent Michael McVey, who was charged with obstructing justice, tampering with evidence, obstructing official business and falsification. In 2015, McVey agreed to resign from his post in exchange for not facing charges, never seek employment in Steubenville education again and avoid contact with anyone involved in the investigation or case.[Alt URL]
Three other adults were also indicted. An elementary school principal and a strength coach were charged with failing to report possible child abuse. Charges against the principal were unrelated to the August rape case and were dismissed before the case went to trial. A former volunteer coach faces several misdemeanor charges, including making false statements and contributing to underage alcohol consumption. Other school employees were reinstated after an investigation into the indictments.
In culture
The song "Plato's Tripartite" performed by Canadian metal band Protest the Hero from their album Volition was written directly referencing this case, providing a sarcastic commentary on how the media and public twisted their sympathy to those who performed the rape, and ostracized the victim instead.
The 2014 Lifetime channel movie ''The Assault'' was loosely based on this incident.
Los Angeles-based artist Andrea Bowers exhibited an art installation with the tweets the football players sent out the night of the rape at Pomona College Museum of Art January21 to April13, 2014, and Pitzer College Art Galleries from January21 to March28, 2014 in Claremont, California. Bowers grew up in a small town in Ohio with values similar to those in Steubenville, where, she says, "most of the young men were never told 'No' and were culturally given the right to do whatever they wanted", something that she feels "needs to change". She attended the trial to do the research necessary for the artwork.
Brad Pitt and partners PlanB Entertainment production company bought the rights of the ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' article about Deric Lostutter's involvement in the case.
'' Roll Red Roll'' is an 80-minute documentary movie about the rape. It is directed by Nancy Schwartzman, and edited by Christopher White. The film provides a "public example of the breadth of rape culture". A companion book of the same title, co-authored by Schwartzman and Nora Zelevansky, was published by Hachette Book Group
Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Gr ...
in 2022.
See also
* Sexual assault of Savannah Dietrich (Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
)
* Suicide of Rehtaeh Parsons ( Cole Harbour District High School, Nova Scotia)
* Suicide of Audrie Pott ( Saratoga High School, California)
* Torrington High School rape case (Torrington, Connecticut
Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States. The city p ...
)
*Glen Ridge rape
In 1989, an intellectually disabled 17-year-old girl was raped with a broomstick and a baseball bat by members of the Glen Ridge High School football team in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. This event attracted nationwide attention, mainly due to the pe ...
(Glen Ridge High School
Glen Ridge High School (GRHS) is a comprehensive six-year public middle school / high school serving students in seventh through twelfth grades from Glen Ridge, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary schoo ...
, New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
)
*Post-assault treatment of sexual assault victims
After a sexual assault or rape, victims are often subjected to scrutiny and, in some cases, mistreatment. Victims undergo medical examinations and are interviewed by police. If there is a criminal trial, victims suffer a loss of privacy and ...
*Vanderbilt rape case
The Vanderbilt rape case is a criminal case of sexual assault that occurred on June 23, 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee, in which four Vanderbilt University football players carried an unconscious 21-year-old female student into a dorm room, gang-r ...
References
External links
* {{Cite web , last=Ferenstein , first=Gregory , date=June 9, 2013 , title=Hacker Faces More Jail Time Than The Convicted Steubenville Rapists He Exposed , url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/06/09/hacker-faces-more-jail-time-than-the-convicted-steubenville-rapists-he-exposed/ , access-date=September 24, 2022 , website=TechCrunch , language=en-US
2012 in Ohio
2013 in Ohio
Rapes in the United States
Sex crime trials
Steubenville, Ohio
Violence in Ohio
August 2012 crimes in the United States
Gang rape in North America
Crimes in Ohio
Rape trials in the United States
History of women in Ohio
Sexual assault in sports