STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio school superintendent,two coaches and a principal were charged
by a grand jury thatinvestigated whether other laws were broken in the rape of a drunken16-year-old girl by
two football players, the state’s attorney generalsaid Monday.The special grand jury convened in
Steubenville hadinvestigated whether adults like coaches or school administrators knewof the rape allegation
but failed to report it as required by state law.DeWinesaid the case initially was about the teenagers
involved but had becomejust as much about the adults, including the parents."How do you hold kids
accountable if you don’t hold the adults accountable?" he said.DeWine said he believes the grand jury’s
work is done, barring any new evidence.Thecharges against the superintendent, Mike McVey, include felony
countsof obstructing justice, DeWine said. McVey wasn’t immediately availablefor comment, but the district
planned to issue a statement later Monday.Anelementary school principal, Lynnett Gorman, 40, and a strength
coach,Seth Fluharty, 26, are charged with failing to report possible childabuse. A former volunteer coach,
Matthew Bellardine, 26, faces severalmisdemeanor charges, including making false statements and
contributingto underage alcohol consumption. It wasn’t immediately clear if any ofthem had attorneys.DeWine
announced the panel’s creation March17, the day a judge convicted two Steubenville high school
footballplayers of raping the West Virginia girl after an alcohol-fueled partyin August 2012 following a
team scrimmage.The grand jury had met on and off in the months since then.Itearlier charged the Steubenville
schools’ information technologydirector with tampering with evidence, obstructing justice,
obstructingofficial business and perjury. The panel also indicted that man’sdaughter on theft and receiving
stolen property charges unrelated to therape case. Both have pleaded not guilty.The case has long beenmarked
by allegations that more football players should have beencharged and that police and prosecutors tried to
cover up aspects of thecase early on. Authorities counter that the two teens were arrested andcharged within
days of the attack.The crime shocked many inSteubenville because of the seeming callousness with which
otherstudents took out their cellphones to record the attack and gossipedabout it online. In fact, the case
came to light via a barrage ofmorning-after text messages, social media posts and online photos andvideo.Big
Red football is a big deal in the economicallydepressed city of about 18,000, a former steel town that shed
thousandsof jobs in past decades. The team’s football stadium, dubbed "DeathValley," sits on a
hill above Steubenville, and the team is a nine-timestate champion, including back-to-back titles in 2005
and 2006. Flameserupt from the mouth of a stallion rearing over the stadium each time atouchdown is
scored.Hacker activists helped propel coverage ofthe rape case and press allegations of a cover-up,
including theirreposting of a 12-minute Internet video made within hours of the attacksin which Michael
Nodianos, a former Steubenville student, jokes aboutthe victim and the attacks. The National Organization
for Women hadcalled on DeWine to charge Nodianos with failure to report a crime,while Nodianos’ attorney
says he had no firsthand knowledge of theattacks.The owners of the house where that video was made were
among those interviewed by investigators.Ma’LikRichmond, 17, was convicted of rape and sentenced to a year
in thejuvenile prison system. Mays, also 17, was convicted of rape and ofusing his phone to take a picture
of the girl naked and sentenced to twoyears in juvenile detention.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All
rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.
