The Associated Press
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, right, answers questions about successful prosecution of two juveniles in rape case during news conference March 17, 2013
A day after two high school football players were convicted of raping
a 16-year-old girl, authorities arrested two Ohio girls suspected of
making social media threats against the accuser.
Ohio
Attorney General Mike DeWine said the girls arrested Monday posted
threatening Facebook and Twitter comments on Sunday, the day the players
were convicted in Steubenville.
The rape case brought
international attention to the small city of 18,000 and led to
allegations of a cover-up to protect the Steubenville High School
football team.
Steubenville police Capt. Joel Walker said the Jefferson County girls, ages 15 and 16, were being held in juvenile detention.
The
older girl was charged with aggravated menacing for a tweet that
threatened homicide and said, "You ripped my family apart," according to
the attorney general's office. A Facebook posting from the younger girl
threatened the accuser with bodily harm, leading to a menacing charge,
the office said.
"These arrests, I hope, will end the harassment of the victim,"
DeWine said. "We are simply not going to tolerate this. Enough is
enough."
The guilty verdict was barely an hour old Sunday
when DeWine said he was continuing his investigation and would consider
charges against anyone who failed to speak up after the attack last
August. That group could include other teens, parents, school officials
and coaches for the high school's beloved football team, which has won
nine state championships.
A grand jury will meet in
mid-April to consider evidence gathered by investigators from dozens of
interviews, including with the football program's 27 coaches, which
include junior high, freshman and volunteer coaches.
Text messages introduced at trial suggested the head coach was aware
of the rape allegation early on. Reno Saccoccia "took care of it,"
defendant Trent Mays said in one text introduced by prosecutors.
DeWine said coaches are among officials required by state law to report suspected child abuse. Saccoccia has not commented.
Steubenville
city manager Cathy Davison said residents want to see justice done, and
the city will be better off going forward because of the wider
investigation.
Steubenville schools Superintendent Mike
McVey released a statement Monday reiterating his position that the
district was waiting until the trial ended to take action. He declined
to address the grand jury investigation.
It's unclear
what could happen to the school's sports programs if coaches were
charged. Sanctions against teams or programs typically involve
violations of rules related to playing, such as improper recruiting of
student-athletes or playing ineligible athletes, said Tim Stried,
spokesman for the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
Mays
and Ma'Lik Richmond were charged with penetrating the West Virginia
girl with their fingers, first in the back seat of a moving car after a
mostly underage drinking party on Aug. 11, and then in the basement of a
house.
Mays, 17, and Richmond, 16, were sentenced to at
least a year in juvenile prison for the rapes. Mays was ordered to serve
an additional year for photographing the underage girl naked.
They can be held until they turn 21.
Special
Judge Thomas Lipps recommended the boys be assigned to Lighthouse Youth
Center-Paint Creek in Chillicothe which he said has a strong program
for treating juvenile sex offenders.