COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The sex offender classification
given an Ohio high school football player convicted of raping a
16-year-old girl did not violate constitutional due process protections
or amount to double jeopardy, a state appeals court ruled in upholding
the reporting requirement.
A judge in August gave Ma’Lik Richmond
the state’s second-toughest sex offender classification — Tier II — the
same that his co-defendant received in June 2013. Unlike adult sex
offenders, Richmond’s name won’t be included on publicly accessible
websites and he can request to have the sex offender classification
removed later based on his history of rehabilitation.
Richmond’s
lawyers argued the classification amounts to double jeopardy because it
was deferred until he was released from detention. They also argued
violations of equal protection rights, saying there was no reason why
different classification standards apply to children depending on their
age — rules for those aged 14 and 15, for example, and different rules
for those 16 and 17.
The court’s three-judge panel rejected those
arguments in Monday’s ruling, as they did an argument that the
classification is cruel and unusual because it can extend beyond an
offender’s 21st birthday.
The classification does not "raise
concerns with fundamental fairness," because of judges’ discretion in
choosing a level, the fact it could be reduced once the case is over and
that it could be eliminated three years after that, the panel said.
Richmond’s attorney declined comment on the decision Friday and could not say whether an appeal was
planned.
Richmond,
18, and his co-defendant were found guilty last year of raping the West
Virginia girl after an alcohol-fueled party in August 2012.
The
case drew international attention because of the role of texting and
social media in publicizing the attack and led to allegations of a
cover-up to protect the celebrated Steubenville High School football
team.
A grand jury investigating whether other laws were broken in
the case brought additional charges against six adults, including
Steubenville superintendent Michael McVey, who has pleaded not guilty to
felony counts of tampering with evidence and obstructing justice, and
misdemeanor counts of falsification and obstructing official business.
William
Rhinaman, the Steubenville schools’ former technology director, has
pleaded not guilty to charges of evidence tampering, obstructing
justice, obstructing official business and perjury.
Charges against four other individuals have been resolved.