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January 4th, 2013
11:16 PM ET

Lawyer: 'I don't think she thinks she was raped'

CNN's Susan Candiotti spoke with Adam Nemann, the attorney representing Trent Mays, who is accused of raping a teen girl in Steubenville, Ohio. Nemann says the alleged victim sent a text message to Mays stating "I know you didn't rape me." Nemann will introduce the text as evidence at trial.

Read more about the case.

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Filed under: Crime
soundoff (39 Responses)
  1. Andy

    Is he referring to what the 2 boys did to her while she was unconscious or to what he is doing to her right now?

    January 30, 2013 at 11:20 pm |
  2. Joel

    She was unconscious.

    January 24, 2013 at 11:13 am |
  3. Greg

    Ah, lawyers.

    What is the difference between a dead snake in the road and a dead lawyer in the road?

    Decceleration skid marks in front of the snake, acceleration tire marks in front of the lawyer.

    January 23, 2013 at 2:09 pm |
  4. Joe

    Personal Responsibility.

    January 12, 2013 at 8:59 pm |
  5. Davkar

    Of course it is not rape. Trussing a drugged, drunk and unconscious young woman up like a thanksgiving turkey and dragging her from building to building for other males to have sex with her when she was in no position to consent to it is not the action of a rapist. This would insult all the rapists currently in prison.

    This action goes so far beyond rape that there is no word for it. We can't call these guys animals either because no animal I know of would do such a thing.

    No – these guys are in a "class" all their own and hopefully will soon be in a cell all their own.

    The fact that so many people are focused on whether a rape was committed and not on the fact that so many people had sex with an unconscious girl and thought there was nothing wrong with this is what speaks volumes about American society – it is less civilized now than it was 200 years ago. Parents – what are you teaching your children?

    January 12, 2013 at 3:47 am |
    • John

      Parents are NOT teaching their children, that is the problem! On the contrary, it is TV that does the teaching.

      January 28, 2013 at 4:39 pm |
  6. betty

    Sorry, but not good enough of a defense!! After the videos, photos, texts, and tweets the defense layers are gonna have to do better. I want justice for the victim AND ethical public servants for Steubenville! The only way Steubenville is going to recover from this is to 'clean house'.

    January 9, 2013 at 8:35 am |
    • Kaleb

      Not good enough of a defense? Don't you mean not good enough of a prosecution? What happened to innocent until proven guilty? It seems like the defense can cast more than a reasonable doubt on these circumstances which makes the legal weight sit with them.

      January 11, 2013 at 3:26 pm |
      • Tracey

        Innocent until proven guilty applies to the jurors. Not public opinion. This is one of those cases where the DA should stack every possible charge that remotely applies. She's under 18, is Statutory rape applicable in Ohio? If so, even if she doesn't think she was raped...It wouldn't matter because she would be unable to legally give consent. No matter how you look at it, this is a case of Worst Possible Scenario. The boys behind this are the lowest forms of human cells attacked together. They are deviants up there in ranking on the same ICK Scale as Jerry Sanduski. They have created an entirely new classification of rape and the DA is too stupid to even realize that fact yet.

        January 23, 2013 at 3:35 am |
        • Christian

          You are absolutely right. May justice prevail.

          January 29, 2013 at 7:40 pm |
        • Ron

          Innocent until guilty applies to the person accused. You know what; yeah the guy probably did it... wouldn't surprise me..... but as much as we all think he did it.... we need to keep in mind innocent until proven guilty. Otherwise someone could say "Tracy did these horrible things... we got videos.. pictures... yadda yadda" then we all jump on you and say you should be thrown in jail!.....

          But has anyone seen these videos? can identify this guy?

          January 31, 2013 at 1:13 pm |
      • John

        "Not good enough for a defense" means there is already enough to prove them guilty. Video and photographic evidence kinda have a habit of doing that.

        January 23, 2013 at 2:10 pm |
  7. Lexi

    If a person is unconscious, drugged or out cold it is RAPE! Be it a stranger, a husband or a bf – she was unable to give consent. There are probably a thousand rapes every weekend where girls were too drunk but also too embarrassed to report it. Obviously if she was out cold anyone could have texted from her phone and she did not even remember what happened. Good Luck in court boys!

    January 9, 2013 at 2:11 am |
    • Leslie B.

      Lexi is absolutely right. *Consent* is the issue, and if she was drugged and/or drunk, she wasn't capable of consent.

      January 11, 2013 at 4:29 pm |
      • conor McCartney

        even if she drugs herself, in this case with alcohol

        January 13, 2013 at 4:35 pm |
  8. Lee

    I read a story saying that her cell phone went missing the night of the attack and someone else sent the text.

    January 8, 2013 at 12:51 pm |
  9. bob

    She is young and inexperienced. It's very possible she was overwhelmed by the situation and scared. She still has to face this group at school every day. To be tormented by bullies is an awful experience. Who knows what goes through her mind for self-preservation? Just because the defense attorney provides one text shouldn't be grounds for dismissal of the entire case. Even if it was consensual with one doesn't mean she said yes to all.

    January 8, 2013 at 12:24 pm |
  10. Ryan

    There you have it folks. If you are planning on raping someone, make sure you grab their phone and send text messages to yourselves making it appear as though the person you raped wanted it to happen, and all will be forgiven.

    I can't speak for this specific case, but there are many flaws with blindly trusting what electronic devices say.

    January 8, 2013 at 11:44 am |
    • Noam Deplum

      Kinda odd that the text was sent from her phone two full days before she got it back. Justsayin.

      January 12, 2013 at 9:32 am |
  11. Selena

    I am not condoning the young mens behavior at all. However, I think that there needs to be a new definition of the crime that took place. I think that if getting totally wasted at a party/after party where everybodys inhibitions are lowered and later finding out that intercourse took place that you would not have had if you were straight and in your right mind, then I may have been raped. Somehow, these "victims" have to have a little bit of responsibilty for their behavior.

    January 8, 2013 at 10:15 am |
    • Lexi

      Umm read the full story Selena, she was drugged not drunk. Her ex boyfriend set her up. So if you faint on the sidewalk and get raped you are responsible. At what age do we teach people respect. First of all anyone serving her alcohol should get ten years- SHE's A MINOR!!!!! Even if its another teen. I think "she's already "dealing with the responsibility" hello stds, pregnancy, humiliation. We need less of these jock boys and more responsible teens. When she is 21 she is responsible, until then every house she visited (Parents can be sued) and every person that served raped her will be doing time.

      January 9, 2013 at 2:17 am |
    • Sarah

      So Selena, let's make sure we understand you correctly: A male and a female become intoxicated at a party. Because of the lowered inhibitions, the female is now solely responsible for both her behavior as well as his? Maybe people who drink and drive can use that same rationale. "Gee, I was so drunk I don't remember crashing my car. That other person should watch out for me when I am drinking, I can't be responsible for my actions." Rather than blaming drunk women we need to teach young men to be careful about how much THEY drink and the fact that becoming intoxicated could lead THEM to act in ways they might not think possible sober.

      January 9, 2013 at 8:09 am |
      • Steven

        Well played/put Sarah. Kudos.

        January 11, 2013 at 10:54 pm |
    • Don McLaughlin

      We must be looking at different web pictures. Describing her condition as a "lowering of inhibitions" may qualify for understatement of the year! She was .... blotto.. My late Wife always told our growing sons .... you do anything like that .. or get some girl pregnant ... and you have far more to worry about right here at home ... than from the law or them...
      In college, our Fraternity had party monitors and did late night sweeps ..... not to interfere with sober romance, but to protect those who had passed out. Respect is taught at home and in group settings. Those who watch are guilty of, at a minimum, being cowards.

      January 9, 2013 at 1:31 pm |
    • Leigh

      This girl is very young and obviously not getting the attention/love that a child needs at home. I agree, young women need to be taught to have self esteem and self respect and to be smart about the situations they put themselves in. That being said, these young men are disgusting, rape or no rape. I'll bet the parents are defending their behavior, which is horrid. There is never an excuse to treat another human being in this way. And this defense that the boy is her "boyfriend" – it has nothing to do with anything. Woman can be raped by boyfriends and husbands too.

      January 9, 2013 at 3:19 pm |
      • Chris

        How can you assume that shes "not getting the attention and love at home" just because she was raped doesn't mean that shes not getting the love she deserves. Simply going to a party doesn't mean you aren't loved. It's silly to claim that the two are related unless explicitly stated. People in high school go to parties all the time, but it doesn't mean they are not loved.

        January 12, 2013 at 11:00 am |
    • Steven M

      Based on that logic, drunk drivers could use this defense, and not be held accountable for their actions if they hit and kill someone while behind the wheel of a car.

      January 9, 2013 at 4:46 pm |
    • Angela

      It's still rape, just because she is physically unable to say no doesn't change the matter. By your logic , any woman is asking for it by wearing revealing or tight clothing, being alone with a man, or doing anything that could be construed as dangerous. Just because a woman has a drink at a party, doesn't mean her right to not be raped somehow disappears.

      January 11, 2013 at 3:23 am |
    • Sonny

      She was drugged by her assailants. If someone slipped something in your drink and you passed out, would that make it OK for them to violate you while they videotaped it?

      January 13, 2013 at 6:58 pm |
    • Keller

      Interesting point of view. Are you suggesting that if your son got drunk at a party and passed out, and was anally raped by another drunken young man, or a group of inebriated young men, we couldn't really call it a " rape" because He was to blame?

      January 13, 2013 at 11:35 pm |
  12. Katie

    Certainly the rape issue is of foremost concern, but I have not heard a word about underage drinking in regard to this story. It seems to me that the alcohol misuse by all involved set the stage for this unfortunate turn of events. Could it be that teen drinking is another crime not being enforced?

    January 7, 2013 at 11:03 pm |
    • Noam Deplum

      Well, that and the date rape drugs they slipped her. But the one beer she had before she passed out and was gang raped by a cadre of students known as the "rape crew" is certainly all on her. Fie and shame on her for that one beer. Which somehow led to her passing out for a day or two.

      January 12, 2013 at 9:35 am |
      • Troy

        The very valid point that Katie makes is that 1 beer is still illegal. Because it happens and is common for teenagers doesn't make it legal. The boys are absolutely to blame and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The girl has certainly received more than her due suffering and punishment which, unfortunately will last far longer than the any the males receive.
        Never-the-less, you can't "roll around in the mud and not get dirty." The sarcastic response about it only being "1 beer" has nothing to do with the issue of "minors", who already have a disproportionately poor judge of right and wrong, congregating and performing illegal acts. Where were the parents of these kids? Where is the deterrent for these types of parties where abhorrent behavior can grow and culminate in these heinous acts?

        January 18, 2013 at 5:12 pm |
  13. Thomas

    If she was drunk/drugged to the extent we are led to believe, how would she know if she had been raped or not?

    I am sure the police are looking into this and other texts.

    January 7, 2013 at 11:57 am |
    • Elizabeth

      Thomas –

      Believe me, there are ways you can tell if someone had sex with you (raped or otherwise) while you were unconscious. You really need to pay better attention to health class in the future, and spend some time getting to understand women, AND their anatomy.

      January 8, 2013 at 6:06 pm |
      • KanneM

        Elizabeth, I have always believed the same. I cannot imagine NOT knowing I had been involved in sexual activity, consensual or not; there are too many obvious signs. This is why I am always stunned when I read – either in news stories or of late in the comment section – where women profess not to be certain whether penetration occurred. It happens often, this particular admission, and boggles my mind every time. So, perhaps, you can be more understanding if a man is confused when clearly too many women are oblivious to the state(s) of their own bodies.

        January 9, 2013 at 8:35 pm |
        • Karen

          You don't really want the answer to that question. Just suffice to say that some women may not know. Chalk it up to not being in tune with one's body and move on.

          January 12, 2013 at 1:50 pm |
    • Lexi

      Well for one is she was sodomized she would be bleeding.... I think you know. Hopefully she got a rape kit and a hospital.

      January 9, 2013 at 2:19 am |
    • Sonny

      waking up sore, naked and covered with body fluids might be a clue that something happened

      January 13, 2013 at 7:01 pm |

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