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The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

Ohio High School Rape Affects People Everywhere

Ohio High School Rape Affects People Everywhere

During a night of partying, drinking and other teenage antics, two boys, Ma’lik Richmond, 16, and Trent Mays, 17, allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl twice, bringing emotional turmoil to her family and shame onto the boys.

A trial was held on March 13 to decide their fates, and, after many testimonies including one from the girl herself, they were deemed guilty of all charges on Sun., March 17, and sentenced to juvenile detention. This case took place in Steubenville, Ohio, and changed the lives of many forever.

The rape, which was said to be committed on Aug. 12, 2012, involved Mays, Richmond, the girl and their friends who videotaped the event and deleted it quickly afterwards. During this time, the girl was unconcious, very drunk, and when she gave her testimony, she didn’t remember it very well because she blacked out, according to the New York Times. Since she was extremely intoxicated, she was not in a state where she could consent to sexual intercourse.

During the trial, it was discovered she was raped twice, once in a car and once at the party, and most everyone was under some influence of alcohol. Rather than punish more people for videotaping the act, the friends were granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for a testimony, which sparked some controversy.

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The subject of rape is also very controversial and sensitive because people have very different views on the topic of rape. Sophomore Noah James* expressed his views on the topic.

“Rape should be stopped. Also, the penalty should be higher than what it currently is, it’s a horrible act,” he said.

Participants in social media varied in their views on the trial, and mad at how the regular media portrayed the case. Before coming to court, the case was “tried” over social media, after some of the material was posted on the web, and people from all over were debating on who they thought were at fault and if the two were guilty. As a result, computers, smart-phones and all other electronic devices that could connect to the Internet were banned inside the court room. However, key text messages and tweets were used as concrete evidence against the two former Steubenville High School football players. According to the New York Times, the texts sent by Mays described her as “dead” or a “dead body,” because she was too drunk.

The entire case was centered around the fact that she was drunk and in Ohio, it is considered rape under the law if one is intoxicated and unable to give consent. Knowing that, James has mixed feelings on who is the real person at fault.

“I think [Richmond and Mays] were right to be found guilty but it is kind of the girl’s fault,” he said.”It’s her fault for being drunk.”

Sophomore Lilly Grossman* agreed that the men were right to be punished but believes it was in no way the girl’s fault.

“Honestly, people get out and get drunk all the time,” she said. “It’s normal. If [a girl] can’t give consent [when she’s drunk] then it’s rape, so it’s the guys’ fault.”

After many days of testimonies, hard evidence and apologies, the guilty verdict was reached, and Richmond was sentenced to a minimum of one year in a juvenile detention center, while Mays was sentenced to a minimum of two. Mays’ sentence was twice as long because he was found to be the “delinquent beyond a reasonable doubt — the juvenile equivalent of guilty — not just of rape but also of distributing a nude image of a minor,” according to the New York Times. The two also have a possibility of serving time in a juvenile jail until they are 21 years of age, and both are now registered sex offenders. Learning this, math teacher Michelle Thoms was a little disappointed.

“I’m glad they are registered as sex offenders but I think the punishment should have been harsher,” she said. “They are old enough to make good choices so they should have been tried as adults.” Even though they were brought to justice, Thoms is very upset about the whole situation, and about rape in general.

“I’m horrified that any human being would think [rape] was okay,” she said. “I don’t know why anyone would do that to someone else.”

*Name has been changed

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About the Contributor
Izzy Salant, Print News Editor
Junior Isaac Salant, known as Izzy, is excited to be on his second year of Pitch staff. He is the Print News Editor after being the Print Assistant News Editor & Online News Co-Editor last year. He has had a passion for journalism for a while and has a journalism background as his father is a reporter for Bloomberg News. Aside from The Pitch, Izzy likes baseball and acting, takes Tae Kwon Do and is involved with Live at WJ, where he performs comedy and magic. Additionally, Izzy hopes to be a part of WJ S*T*A*G*E, and is an anchor on The Daily Lineup, where he is frequently known to mess up.
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