Steubenville football players found guilty of rape
STEUBENVILLE, OH – MAY 05: The town of Steubenville sits near the Ohio River on May 5, 2009. The small steel town is divided over an alleged rape involving high school football players.
An Ohio judge has found two Steubenville, Ohio, teenagers guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl while she was drunk, CNN reported.
Trent Mays, 17, and Ma’lik Richmond, 16, both football players for Steubenville High School, could be detained in juvenile jail until they are 21 years old, the New York Times reported.
According to CNN:
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 surrounding the sexual abuse of the girl.
The boys were accused of using their fingers to penetrate the girl while she was too drunk to give her consent for sex in August 2012, the New York Times reported. Ohio law considers that rape.
The victim did not remember the attacks, but pieced together what had happened to her after talking to her friends and seeing cellphone photos and a video of herself posted on YouTube, the New York Times reported.
In exchange for immunity from prosecution, three friends of the co-defendants testified that they saw Mays and Richmond sexually abuse the girl while she was passed out, CNN reported.
More from GlobalPost: Steubenville rape suspects' teammates testify they saw sexual abuse of girl
"This case isn't about a YouTube video. This case isn't about social media. This case isn't about Big Red football," prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter said in closing arguments on Saturday, according to CNN. "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."