Girls accused of threatening Steubenville rape victim given house arrest

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — Two teenage girls accused of threatening a Steubenville rape victim through their social media accounts were placed on house arrest Wednesday.

The threats, police said, surfaced on Twitter in the hours after Trent Mays and Ma'Lik Richmond were found guilty of the rape earlier this month.

Investigators said the teens raped the victim at an alcohol-fueled party last summer.

During Wednesday's hearing, the girls' defense attorneys entered a denial to the charges plea –- which is the equivalent of a not guilty plea in adult court.

The judge and prosecution discussed several motions, including a motion to release all of the teens' activity on Twitter.

“There’s also a motion, filed by the state, that was agreed to by the defense council that is directed to Twitter to ask them to provide the state of Ohio the account information and a complete, accurate copy of all the tweets that may have come from those particular accounts,” Jefferson County prosecutor Sam Pate said.

Investigators said one of the threats posted on Twitter said, "You ripped my family apart. You made my cousin cry. So when I see you it's going to be homicide."

The biggest development in court was the judge's decision to release the girls on house arrest. They were ordered not to contact the victim or use any form of social media.

The girls, ages 15 and 16,  are facing third-degree felony of intimidation of a witness charge, a first-degree misdemeanor of aggravated menacing charge, and a first-degree misdemeanor of telecommunication harassment charge.

WPXI