A judge has ruled that two high school football players in Ohio are "adjudicated delinquent" after being accused of raping a 16-year-old girl during a night of partying last summer.
A ruling of being "adjudicated delinquent" is akin to a guilty ruling in juvenile court.
Defendants Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'lik Richmond, 16, of Steubenville, Ohio, were charged with penetrating the girl with their fingers — first in a car and then in the basement of a house — while partying Aug. 12. The definition of rape includes digital penetration according to Ohio law.
Judge Tom Lipps sentenced Richmond to a juvenile detention facility for at least one year and Mays up to two years (or until they're 21), with credit for time held so far. Both are required to register as juvenile sex offenders.
The teenagers — two members of Steubenville's "Big Red" football team — could be heard sobbing as the decision was being read.
The case revolved around the question of whether the unnamed victim was too drunk to understand what was happening to her and therefore unequipped to provide consent.
"She was substantially impaired, and they treated her like a toy," prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter argued.
Defense attorney Walter Madison contended that the girl has a history of heavy drinking and telling lies while highlighting inconsistencies in the accounts of various witnesses.
The case has shed light on Steubenville, a steel town 40 miles west of Pittsburgh, ever since photos, videos, and tweets documenting the assault and its aftermath surfaced.
The evidence was overwhelming— including heartbreaking texts and testimony from the victim as well as texts from Mays saying that their football coach "took care of it."
The two defendants could be jailed until they turn 21, when they would be released.
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