An inflammatory video leaked by a hacktivist group purportedly shows Ohio teens laughing and cracking jokes about a student allegedly raped that same night.
Steubenville police said they’re aware of the crude 12-minute clip, posted to YouTube on Wednesday( posted below), and that it was previously given to prosecutors in the highly-charged rape case against two players on a local high school football team.
“Since late August 2012, the subject who made the video was interviewed,” Steubenville Police Chief William McCafferty told CBS affiliate WTRF-TV. “This has all been turned over to the prosecutors, which are the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.”
The video is the latest electronic evidence that has resurfaced in this case, which has sharply divided Steubenville, a dwindling steel town on the West Virginia border. Making the situation even thornier is that Steubenville High School and its football team, known as Big Red, are widely celebrated for their state championship titles.
Two 16-year-old players, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, were charged with rape and kidnapping in the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old West Virginia girl last August, according to the Herald-Star. A trial is scheduled for Feb. 13.
The incident gained traction when other players and students talked about the incident on Twitter, posted pictures on Instagram and also uploaded video of the night to YouTube.
Events began at an end-of-summer party in a volunteer football coach’s home, where alcohol was freely flowing, The New York Times reported last month. The girl may have been unconscious, dragged to different parties and raped over several hours, The Times said. She may even have been urinated on.
Meanwhile, hacktivist group Anonymous has been trying to keep a spotlight on the case, claiming officials are trying to cover up the crime that may involve other football players. The group has organized protest rallies, including another one for Saturday, and recovered some online posts that were deleted by students.
The latest video shows a former Steubenville High School student talking about the alleged rape and referring to the teen involved as a “dead girl.”
After watching the video myself…I am completely disgusted with the way that some of our young boys are being raised to think that something like rape is a laughing matter. Not that I want to drag politics into this, but I can’t help but think that these young men are going to be Republican or come from Republican families. Wasn’t it Todd Aiken and other Republicans like him who publically minimized the horror of rape by classifying rape as “legitimate” not to mention believing that female bodies could somehow block an unwanted pregnancy? Where is our outrage? Not just at these slimy excuses for human beings, but all the way up the ladder? I guess I can’t be surprised at this….considering our Republican congressmen feel the same way.
Watch the video below:
