While Trenton Mays and Ma’lik Richmond have finally been convicted of raping a 16-year-old and will spend time behind bars, the Steubenville rape scandal is far from over.
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Protestors who have been calling for charges to be brought upon the football program and other teens who attended the party where the girl was raped, are now getting what they asked for. State Attorney General Mike DeWine said he was continuing his investigation and would consider charges against anyone who failed to speak up after the attack last summer.
According to the Washington Post, a grand jury will meet in mid-April to consider evidence gathered by investigators from dozens of interviews, including with the football team’s 27 coaches.
The announcement stemmed from a handful of text messages read out in court that suggest the head coach was aware of the rape allegation days after it happened. Those texts, exchanged between Mays and his fellow football players, reveal that the coach “took care of it.”
The coach and the school district have declined to comment, but DeWine believes that there is much more to investigate.
“I’ve reached the conclusion that this investigation cannot be completed, simply cannot be completed, that we cannot bring finality to this matter without the convening of a grand jury,” DeWine said.
DeWine also acknowledged that rape is not an isolated problem in Steubenville; in fact, he said, it happens every Friday and Saturday night across the nation.
In the meantime, Mays, 17, and Richmond, 16, will spend at least a year in juvenile prison and must register as sex offenders. Mays was ordered to serve an additional year for photographing the underage, naked victim.
It is possible that they can be held until they are 21.
SOURCE: WashPost
