Teen victim testifies in Ohio rape trial

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STEUBENVILLE, Ohio, March 16 (UPI) -- A 16-year-old girl who has accused two Ohio high school football players of raping her testified Saturday in the trial of the two alleged attackers.

Steubenville High School football players Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'lik Richmond, 16, are accused of raping the girl, a student at nearby Weirton (W.Va.) Madonna High School whose name is being withheld as an alleged victim, during a series of parties last August.

The (Steubenville) Herald-Star reported the girl testified about the first time she saw a YouTube video of the incident, telling the court she could not watch it all the way through.

"I couldn't stop crying, so I just turned it off," she said.

The girl also testified she thought she had been drugged.

"There was no other explanation for me not remembering a single thing from that night," she said.

She, who identified and pointed out the two defendants in the courtroom, had yet to be cross-examined by defense attorneys , the newspaper said.

Prosecutors allege both defendants digitally penetrated the girl, which constitutes rape in the state of Ohio. She allegedly was intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Much of the now four-day trial has focused on explicit text messages sent between the victim and the defendants, and the defendants and others, as well cellphone pictures and videos and social media posts surrounding the alleged sexual abuse of the girl.

On Friday, three witnesses -- two of who were minors so their names were not reported -- said they saw the defendants digitally penetrate the victim. All three witnesses have been granted immunity in the case in exchange for their testimony.

Judge Tom Lipps is presiding over the case without a jury.

If the suspects are found guilty of the charges against them -- both are charged with rape, while Mays is also accused of illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material -- they face the possibility of being jailed until they are 21.