Home Pop Culture Former Stebeunville High school student Michael Nodianos not facing charges. But should...

Former Stebeunville High school student Michael Nodianos not facing charges. But should he?

SHARE
Michael Nodianos
Michael Nodianos
Michael Nodianos
Michael Nodianos

Steubenville rape case charges may be dropped and the trial moved?

Steubenville high school student apologizes for posting rape picture. Denies wanting revenge.

Steubenville rape now turns up photos of two new women semi naked. More victims involved?

Steubenville rape witnesses may now still face criminal charges. Internal disarray?

Steubenville rape witnesses urged to come forward. But is it wishful thinking?

Steubenville rape witnesses still refuse to cooperate. But why?

Steubenville rape case leads to Anonymous releasing new video of intent.

Steubenville rape case leads to guards protecting school. Death threats made….

How Steubenville High will force a change in whether we accept rape or not?

Steubenville High school rape video teen is desperate to be forgiven. Death threats galore…

Steubenville high school rape charges cease. Angry mobs protest.

Steubenville High school rape case leads to new Anonymous leaks. New names…

Steubenville High school leaked video now leads to demands for Michael Nodianos’ expulsion.

Steubenville High school students joke about rape in video leaked by Anonymous.

A former Stebeunville High school student, Michael Nodianos it has been remarked by local authorities will not face charges pursuant to a released video tape that shows the 18 year old mocking the purported rape of a 16 year old girl at Steubenville,Ohio last August.

Nevertheless Nodianos has gone on to wear the wrath of many who are incensed that until hacker group Anonymous came into the fore, local authorities had essentially swept the incident under the carpet so as not to taint the beloved school football team which is said to have had some of its team members involved in the alleged rape.

Nodianos’s appearance in the video that Anonymous released has led to many wondering out aloud whether by virtue of applauding the rape or at the very least not condemning it whether Nodianos should be held culpable of libel against the girl purportedly raped?

Reflected one commentator on the web: They could easily be charged as accessories to repeated sexual assaults. Not to mention referencing a sexual assault that you’ve witnessed in person and know is occurring at the time of your “tweeting” on social media and not reporting it should also be seen by the sheriff as grounds to charge them as accessories at the least. That isn’t simply “bad behaviour” but encouraging and facilitating a sexual assault. They could easily be charged as accessories to repeated sexual assaults. Not to mention referencing a sexual assault that you’ve witnessed in person and know is occurring at the time of your “tweeting” on social media and not reporting it should also be seen by the sheriff as grounds to charge them as accessories at the least. That isn’t simply “bad behaviour” but encouraging and facilitating a sexual assault. They could easily be charged as accessories to repeated sexual assaults. Not to mention referencing a sexual assault that you’ve witnessed in person and know is occurring at the time of your “tweeting” on social media and not reporting it should also be seen by the sheriff as grounds to charge them as accessories at the least. That isn’t simply “bad behaviour” but encouraging and facilitating a sexual assault. 

Which led to one commentator offering the following countering view:

I agree 100%, but, I think that this notion of arresting people who are standbys might be too idealistic. If they *conspired* for the girl to be raped, that’s something different, and yes, that’s a crime, but if they had a feeling it was going on and/or witnessed it – that’s not really a crime, or a legal thing that can be pursued. I can think of a lot of incidents where this has happened (think: gang mentality, passerby mentality, etc), where multiple people witness a crime and do nothing to stop it. It’s an interesting subject, and I do question the morality of those who lets say see a rape happening in an alleyway and don’t even call the cops, but, that’s not something you can arrest a person and throw them in jail for either.I agree 100%, but, I think that this notion of arresting people who are standbys might be too idealistic. If they *conspired* for the girl to be raped, that’s something different, and yes, that’s a crime, but if they had a feeling it was going on and/or witnessed it – that’s not really a crime, or a legal thing that can be pursued. I can think of a lot of incidents where this has happened (think: gang mentality, passerby mentality, etc), where multiple people witness a crime and do nothing to stop it. It’s an interesting subject, and I do question the morality of those who lets say see a rape happening in an alleyway and don’t even call the cops, but, that’s not something you can arrest a person and throw them in jail for either.

Nevertheless to say that the young man’s future has been ruined by making remarks that essentially condone the culture of rape is perhaps an understatement. Not only has Nodianos been the target of numerous death threats and consistent demands for his ouster at Ohio State University where he is attending via a baseball scholarship (he has at this time elected to drop out of the upcoming semester, can anyone guess why?) but he has in general been across the board vilified, short of being the rapist himself.

Of course whilst raping an individual is one thing and then being caught abetting it is another, one does have to wonder if on some level the young man has been unnecessarily victimized for simply expressing his views as to the indecent that he was later told about (his lawyer Dennis McNamara stresses Nodianos did not physically witness the purported rape but only heard about it from others who had seen it take place)? Granted his views are less than laudable but as a free society one ought to wonder should an individual have to face the degree of wrath that Nodianos has had to face for simply expressing views and attitudes that many in the community (unfortunately) have? Or to put it another way, must I never express a point of view if it risks not being perceived as morally, ethically or even aesthetically correct or palatable to others?

SHARE
 

7 COMMENTS

  1. Why would they have asked him what it was like to “be on a dead girl” at the beginning of the video if he hadn’t participated?
    If he didnt participate then he has still committed a crime by being an accessory as stated in other comments.
    For no charges to be have brought against him has proven something isn’t right in Stuebenville OH!

  2. I am stunned that media is interpreting the many “dead” statements that Nodianos made as metaphor: i.e. he meant that “her reputation” was dead! After listening to the appalling video, and reading some of the tweets that weren’t deleted, I think this pos believed the girl was DEAD–no metaphor intended. And he thought that was just as funny as her rapes.

  3. IT will be protected IF EVER charged; of course IT should be. IT is an adult that aided and abetted FELONIES. “She is so raped” “Deader than…..” It had knowledge and covered up; ARREST NOW.

  4. I think he can be charged with accessory after the fact. Also HOW would he know how “dry” the victim was?? and why if he was told that by another would he be so adamant about how “dry” ‘it’ was if he did not “experience” it first hand?
    Here is why i believe he can be charged with a crime—> A person who learns of the crime after it is committed and helps the criminal to conceal it, or aids the criminal in escaping, or simply
    fails to report the crime, is known as an “accessory after the fact”. A
    person who does both is sometimes referred to as an “accessory before
    and after the fact”, but this usage is less common.

    A charge of conspiracy can be made even if the primary offense is
    never committed, so long as the plan has been made, and at least one overt
    act towards the crime has been committed by at least one of the
    conspirators. Thus, an accessory before the fact will often, but not
    always, also be considered a conspirator. A conspirator must have been a
    party to the planning of the crime, rather than merely becoming aware
    of the plan to commit it and then helping in some way.
    A person who incites another to a crime will become a member of a
    conspiracy if agreement is reached, and may then be considered an
    accessory or a joint principal if the crime is eventually committed.
    In the United States,
    a person who learns of the crime and gives some form of assistance
    before the crime is committed is known as an “accessory before the
    fact”.

  5. If you publicly express a view on social media like twitter in a way that may well drive the target of your remarks into suicide, you should be ready to face an equally harsh backlash. Why is it so unfathomable for this author that Nodianos, who was, by the way, already an adult at the time of the incident, should own his shit? Because our cultural tradition dicates that women just have to take it?
    And, is it really too much to ask of people to report a crime they learn about or witness, at least afterwards, if they are too timid to intervene? If laws do not cover punishing a failure to report, it is no wonder that rape culture is perpetuated. Besides, I would be particularly interested, if there is proof – like on- camera-proof – that Nodianos was at Mc Donalds as he states and not at the site of the rape. Or did police just take his word? His word an the word of his sports pals, who very well know, that Nodianos – as an adult – will be in bigger trouble than anyone else, if his involvement can be proven.

    As for his career at university, what signal will it send to his male peers and the female students, if he – an outspoken advocate of ‘it is not really rape if she is unconscious’ – can continue his university career, and that on scholarship? It is simple. If he is not permanently expelled, the university and society condones rape culture as an alternative, valid life style choice. The key question is: do we really want to end rape culture, or do we want to find excuses?

Comments are closed.