Steubenville Rape Case: Ohio student in online video regrets comments about alleged victim

By: Crimesider Staff, Roomie Huh
Topics: Daily Blotter

(CBS/AP) COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio student shown in a video joking about a teenage girl allegedly raped by two high school football players regrets the comments he made, his attorney said Monday.

Two teenage boys are set for trial next month in juvenile court in Steubenville, a city of about 18,000, on charges that they raped a 16-year-old girl in August. Their attorneys have denied the charges in court.

Attorney Dennis McNamara said in a statement that the student in the video, a 2012 graduate of Steubenville High School and an Ohio State University academic scholarship student this past fall, was ashamed and embarrassed about his comments and the effect his behavior has had, especially on his family.

McNamara said the man, who he referred to as "Michael," is not a suspect in the investigation and was not present at the scene of the alleged attack. The attorney said Michael left a party around midnight where he was told the alleged victim was drinking and went to a friend's house where the video was recorded about 2 a.m. on Aug. 12.

The attorney said the student was drinking the night the video was taken and was intoxicated when it was made.

"There is no excuse or justification for the comments and jokes Michael made on the video," the statement said.

"With sober reflection, he is ashamed and embarrassed," the statement said. "He sincerely regrets his behavior and the effect it has had on all parties involved, especially his family. He was not raised to act in this manner."

McNamara said the video was posted on YouTube in August, taken down, then reposted by a hackers' group last week.

Social media and the Internet are playing a crucial role in the case as hackers released a video last week purportedly showing a former Steubenville student joking about the alleged attack. Public interest in the case increased with the online circulation of the video. The hackers who released the video allege more people were involved and should be held accountable.

Complete coverage of the Steubenville Rape Case on Crimesider

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by SwissPiggy_Against_Evil January 31, 2013 3:20 AM EST

THIS IS STEADY4EVER's POST (that has since been deleted)
January 8, 2013 12:14 PM EST
Is there anyone on here that wouldn't be embarrassed at things they said when they were this age? They don't understand the girls feelings and are trying to be cool in front of their friends. All you perfect people need to lighten up.

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Hey steady4ever, you MUST be a teenager who also has no sense of morality or even the smallest sense of HUMANITY....why did you delete your post? Can't take the heat? We aren't talking about 'fitting in' or 'being cool'...RAPING AN UNCONSCIOUS FEMALE AFTER DRUGGING HER IS A CRIME AND A COMPLETE INVASION OF HER DIGNITY, PRIVACY, NOT TO MENTION, RECORDING IT AND TAKING PHOTOS TO POST ON FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM AND SHARE VIA TEXT MESSAGE.....*** is wrong with you!!
Please share your deleted comment with your Mother so she can sit and digress over where she went wrong with you, PUNK!

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by katnaper February 2, 2013 3:34 PM EST: One of the first things said on the video I watched was:
How does it feel to be on top of a dead girl.......


by snugglemouse March 12, 2013 12:41 PM EDT: STEADY4EVER I am in no way ashamed at anything i said as a teenager. I actually have morals unlike these kids and the adults that cover it up for a damn game. They should all be ashamed of themselves. This is still being covered up and I hope in the end they all get charged in one way or another. This kid should be charged as it is apparent he was there during the attack. I hope this follows every last one of them for the rest of their lives. They show just exactly how not to act, the adults who defend these kids including their attorneys should also be ashamed as they know this was done, the proof was posted by these idiots but they defend them because football is more important to them. How sad a society that puts a game above a person.

by eMars1 January 10, 2013 8:44 PM EST

This moron didn't witness anything. He wasn't even there! The girl denies that she was raped! No evidence has been presented publicly that she was raped! The credibility of anonymous and other wolf-cryers are on the line here; and if rape is not proven in a court of law in this case, it will only make it harder for actual rapists to be found guilty in the future. These assumption-jumpers-without-evidence are hurting the chances of future rape convictions more than they know. Wait for the Courts to weigh the evidence and decide the case and stop abetting future rapists.

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by SwissPiggy_Against_Evil January 31, 2013 2:59 AM EST: Hey fik stuck.
You do NOT know if he was there or not. He certainly speaks as if he WERE there, how else would he know "that girl was dead"....Hum??? Or was he just making it up as he went?
"Thee GIRL" doens't deny she was raped, she was UNCONSCIOUS...
umm..last I checked, when you are unconscious you do NOT remember what occurred during your unconsciousness.
AND anybody can send a message to a phone from another phone that isn't REALLY coming from that phone but appears to come from another phone (number)! Google lately? Hello...technology?? Ding ding..WHO EVEN SAYS SHE SENT IT? The receiver? The phone company? PROVE IT.
Please post your info so people can hate on you and you can deal with what's called "punishment" from society. ANYONE who defends, covers, stands up for this atrocious crime is worthy of life long societal punishment.
Bet you won't post it though, cuz u r a puzzy.


by mcmom410 January 9, 2013 11:11 PM EST: The people on here who are saying it's nothing that he just spoke what he thought are probably the "crazy football people" from the town who are helping to cover up the rape. They have nothing else in that town to go to. They don't want to lose their precious football program. Why hasn't anything happened to the coaches yet? Weren't they drinking at the assistant coaches house? Didn't the head coach at Steubenville cover up everything too.; Reply to this comment


by burgesskj January 9, 2013 9:28 AM EST: Of course he's regretful. Everyone caught regrets what they did.; Reply to this comment


by TSW7207 January 9, 2013 8:01 AM EST: If he was so "drunk" how is he able to come up with a steady string of "one liner joke" about a young woman being "dead" and "raped"? He seems pretty quick, with the many jokes (the full video is over 12 minutes long) and can be found at the Daily Kos website. His speech is not slurred, he is not stumbling around, etc. Yes, he may have been drinking, but he certainly is not "drunk".; Reply to this comment

by Ameicanpatriot January 9, 2013 2:31 AM EST

He was drunk how many of you sound intelligent or even remember what you were saying when you were totally plastered ....Let us pray we never become a nation when people are charged for things they say ...give me a break do you want to live in Russia , WW 2 Germany ...sure it was wrong but threatening violence to people for what they said would make you no better than the rapists if you carry it out.

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by SJScares January 10, 2013 12:42 AM EST: This is the United States and in the United States it is against the law to just stand by, while there is a crime being committed, and do nothing. Plus, it was worse than that. These guys are sitting there making lewd comments and laughing about it. It is clear that they witnessed and/or were involved in the rape by what was being said. They should have called the police and helped this girl. She was still there when they were talking, because one of the boys went out to check on her. They are all responsible and should be help accountable. Whether you like it or not, this is the law of the land.


by AParent January 9, 2013 2:27 AM EST: OH My...the poor boy got caught saying how he really feels. Hang all the scumbags by their feet then gut them. OOPS! That must be how I really feel.; Reply to this comment

by clutch6928 January 9, 2013 12:11 AM EST

Vigilante justice. Lets hang him. Maybe he really is sorry for what he said. Most of us were young and dumb at one point in our lives. Just because he said some things that were distasteful does not make the poor kid a monster.

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by SwissPiggy_Against_Evil January 31, 2013 3:04 AM EST: Excuse me??? Distasteful? Yah, I bet his Mom thinks the same thing...my poor son, said some "distasteful things" and now he is being portrayed as a monster...If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it is probably a duck. Actually we should probably blame the parents, they raised a child who has no morality, no sense of right or wrong, no understanding of decent humanity...???? Seriously...? R U fikking kidding me.

by vagrant45 January 8, 2013 5:46 PM EST

I was just wondering if he was not present at the scene of the incident and is not a suspect, why does he need a lawyer?

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by Blmgt January 9, 2013 12:11 PM EST: He needs a lawyer because this case is being tried in the public and that often leads to real arrests and real court trials.


by cburnham2 January 8, 2013 5:42 PM EST: Well, of COURSE he regrets his comments NOW---now that he can see the firestorm in Steubenville and online that his comments are largely responsible for causing! Too bad he didn't think beforehand though.; Reply to this comment