The morbid parade of awful reactions to the guilty verdicts for two high school football players in the Steubenville rape trial continued into the evening on Monday, with news that two teenage girls were arrested in Ohio for using Facebook and Twitter to threaten the 16-year-old victim.
Attorney General Mike DeWine announced that a 16-year-old girl has been charged with aggravated menacing after weaponizing her Twitter account to threaten the rape victim’s life. DeWine added that a 15-year-old girl has also been charged with one count of menacing after making a similar threat on Facebook, because nothing cheapens the modern age’s miracles of instant communication more than using them for petty acts of cruelty.
The two offending teen girls will appear before a juvenile court in Steubenville later on Tuesday. DeWine issued a statement making it (hopefully) clear to would-be online menacers that his office will not put up with anymore Internet bullshit:
Let me be clear. Threatening a teenage rape victim will not be tolerated. If anyone makes a threat verbally or via the Internet, we will take it seriously, we will find you, and we will arrest you.
The Ohio Attorney General will be quite busy over the coming months — he has said that he will convene a grand jury next month to continue investigating the Steubenville rape case, since there were so many witnesses present at an August party where the West Virginia high school girl was raped and photographed. Photos of the girl were also distributed among party-goers, and, although there were certainly many witnesses to the event, little was done to report or stop it.
Speaking at the Jefferson County Juvenile Court after the guilty verdicts were handed down for Trent Mays and Ma’Lik Richmond, DeWine told the press that a grand jury is the best investigative available to ensure thoroughness and fariness:
And this community needs assurance that no stone has been left unturned in our search for the truth.
According to the Plain Dealer, investigators have so far completed a grand total of 56 interviews, including the owners of the home where the party occurred, the Steubenville high school principal, superintendent, and 27 (!) football coaches. There were, however, 16 other people who, citing various reasons, refused to cooperate.
Teenage girls charged with online threats against Ohio rape victim [Reuters]
Ohio Attorney General will convene grand jury to continue investigating rape [Plain Dealer]