Two charged after alleged rape was live-streamed on Internet

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 14 (UPI) -- A man is accused of raping a 17-year-old girl while the girl's friend broadcast the incident on the live-streaming app Periscope, the Franklin County, Ohio, prosecutor said.

A county grand jury indicted Raymond Gates, 29, and Marina Lonina, 18, both of Columbus, Wednesday on charges of rape, pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, kidnapping and sexual battery.

The victim was socializing with Gates and Lonina in a Columbus home on Feb. 27 when Gates allegedly raped her by force while Lonina used Periscope to upload the assault and broadcast it live on the Internet, Franklin County prosecutor Ron O'Brien said. He added that a friend of Lonina's in another state watched the Internet feed and contacted authorities.

Lonina is also accused of taking nude photos of the victim on the night before the assault, and was charged with illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.

"If Gates and Lonina are convicted for these charges, they each face a potential sentence in excess of 40 years in prison", O'Brien said in a statement.

O'Brien said he is unaware of any prior case in the country in which an alleged crime was streamed live on the Internet, the Columbus Dispatch reported Thursday.