Ohio rape trial judge to issue verdict Sunday

Judge Thomas Lipps said Saturday he will announce his decision after reviewing evidence presented over four days in the case against 17-year-old Trent Mays and 16-year-old Ma'lik Richmond.

Defense attorneys argue the state didn't prove their clients raped the West Virginia girl after an alcohol-fueled party last summer.

Prosecutors say the evidence, including text messages and photographs, is overwhelming. 

If found delinquent, the two could be held in juvenile jail until they turn 21. 

Earlier Saturday, the girl  testified that she could not recall what happened the night of the alleged attack but remembers waking up naked in a strange house after drinking at a party.

The 16-year-old West Virginia girl took the stand on the fourth day of the nonjury trial of Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, who both maintain their innocence. The two are charged in juvenile court, and testimony is expected to continue through the weekend.

The girl testified that she remembers drinking at a party last August, leaving the party holding hands with Mays, then throwing up later. The next thing she remembers is waking up with no clothes on in a strange house, she said. Her phone, earrings, shoes, and underwear were missing, she testified.

“It was really scary, really scary,” she said. “I honestly did not know what to think because I could not remember anything.”

She recalled being in a car later with Mays and Richmond and asking them what happened.

“They kept telling me I was a hassle and they took care of me,” she testified. “I thought I could trust him [Mays] until I saw the pictures and video.”

She said she believed she was assaulted when she later read text messages among friends and saw a photo of herself and a video made that night. She said she suspected she had been drugged because she couldn't explain being as intoxicated as defense witnesses have said she was.

Mays, 17, and Richmond, 16, are charged with digitally penetrating the accuser, first in a car and then in the basement of a house, while partying Aug. 12. Mays also is charged with illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.

The case has riveted the small city of Steubenville amid allegations that more students should have been charged and led to questions about the influence of the local football team, a source of pride in a community that suffered massive job losses with the collapse of the steel industry.

Earlier Saturday, defense attorneys went after the character and credibility of the alleged victim, calling witnesses to the stand to accommodate their schedule, although the prosecution had not yet rested. Two former friends of the girl testified that the accuser had a history of drinking heavily and was known to lie about things.

West Virginia high school student Kelsey Weaver said the accuser told her what happened two days after the alleged attack then, sometime afterward, told Weaver she couldn't remember what happened.

“So two different versions?” asked Mays' attorney Adam Nemann.

“Yes,” Weaver replied.

Earlier, Weaver testified that the accuser was flirting at the party with Richmond.

Both Weaver and schoolmate Gianna Anile testified they were angry at the accuser because she was drinking heavily at the party and rolling around on the floor. They said they tried unsuccessfully to get her to stop drinking.