Tensions Flare As Steubenville Rape Case Prepares For Trial

The Steubenville High School rape case is set to go to trial March 13, and tensions continue to escalate in the aftermath of the incident involving at least two of the school’s star football players who prosecutors allege sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl last year. On Monday, the Ohio branch of the National Organization for Women (Ohio Now) delivered a petition with 85,000 signatures to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, asking for the arrest of a former Steubenville student, Michael Nordianos, who appeared on a video the night of the incident, using terminology like “deader than” and being “raped harder than” in reference to the assault on the girl.

Failure to report a felony is a fourth-degree misdemeanor under Ohio Revised Code 2921.22.

Meanwhile, 40 people have been subpoenaed to testify at the trial, which will take place in Steubenville despite a defense motion to relocate due to potential protests and intimidation by the public. The judge has also said he will allow television cameras in the courtroom.

Dart Center executive director Bruce Shapiro recently spoke to Rachel Dissell, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter who has been covering the case from the beginning.