January 4, 2013
Video causes web furor over Ohio athletes' rape case
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STEUBENVILLE, Ohio -- An online video fueling social media reaction to the case of two eastern Ohio high school football players charged with rape isn't new evidence for state investigators handling the case, the attorney general said Friday.

The 16-year-old boys are set for trial Feb. 13 in juvenile court in Steubenville on allegations that they raped a teenage girl last August. Special prosecutors and a visiting judge are handling the case because local authorities knew people involved with the football team in the small city.

At a probable-cause hearing last fall, teenagers not charged in the case testified that the victim was intoxicated and at times unresponsive on the night of the alleged assault, according to the local newspaper, the Steubenville Herald-Star.

According to a story in The New York Times last month, the victim is from Weirton, W.Va.

Public interest increased this week with the online circulation of an unverified video, lasting more than 12 minutes, that purportedly shows another young man joking about the alleged rape victim, also 16. The video apparently was released by hackers who allege more people were involved and should be held accountable.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office said state investigators aiding local police were aware of the video before it spread online. They're not commenting on details of the video or what other evidence authorities have.

DeWine criticized the video Friday and said his heart goes out to rape victims.

"I think what is unique and different about this case is that the victim continues to be victimized every time that there is some image that's posted up on the Internet, every time that you have a despicable 12-minute video like we saw yesterday," he said. "You know, I can just imagine how I would feel if this was my daughter."

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Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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