The Steubenville football team rape case has gained nationwide and international attention since it went public last year and the trial for two players charged with the rape of a 16-year-old girl will get started in Ohio on Wednesday amid a media parade in the town.
According to the Associated Press, two Ohio high school football players will be put on trial for the rape of a 16-year-old West Virginia girl that occurred last summer. Originally the defense wanted the case dismissed after a judge said the girl and two friends would be compelled to testify, as their accounts could help the defense.
Social media has played a huge part in the trial, as the story became known through Twitter posts and other online posts that showed the girl being dragged around and heard the football players speaking about the alleged rape of the girl and how drunk she was.
The two defendants, Trenton Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, have pleaded not guilty and their lawyers have said that no rape occurred. The players are popular members of Steubenville High School's Big Red football team and school officials have been accused of downplaying the incident.
The hacker group anonymous has repeatedly targeted the team and the town after the outcry, including recently when they posted a video after gaining access to the team's independent web site. The group said they would release a whole range of information, including Social Security numbers, addresses, names of relatives and phone numbers, unless all the people involved apologized to the girl.
"This is a warning shot to the school faculty, the parents of those involved and those involved especially," a person wearing a Guy Fawkes mask claiming to represent the hacker collectives said in the video.
The defendants were put under house arrest until the trial began and many in social media have called them guilty before the trial even started. The videos online from the players show some disgusting behavior, including saying things like she's the "the dead girl" and declared "she is so raped."
The aching staff has stood by their players and everyone in the town, which has 18,000 people, will be watching the case closely.