Tag Archives: Big Red

Grand jury to be seated in Ohio football rape case

A grand jury about to be seated in eastern Ohio will investigate whether other laws were broken in the case of a 16-year-old girl raped by two high school football players last year.

Nothing is off the table for the Jefferson County panel expected to be selected Monday in Steubenville, said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

“The grand jury is a very good investigative tool as well as a very deliberative body,” DeWine said. It will investigate everything that happened before and after the rape, he said.

Some of the outstanding questions in the case include whether anyone knew about the rape early on but didn’t report it and how dozens of teens attending a party that preceded the attack got ahold of beer and other alcohol.

DeWine has also previously confirmed that the grand jury will look at allegations of another rape the previous April.

A judge last month convicted the two football players of penetrating the West Virginia girl with their fingers after an alcohol-fueled party, once in a moving car and later in the basement of a house.

Ma’Lik Richmond, 16, was sentenced to at least a year in the state juvenile detention system, minus about two months he spent in jail before the trial.

Trent Mays, 17, was sentenced to at least two years in juvenile detention because he was also convicted of photographing the underage girl naked.

One of the reasons DeWine wanted a grand jury is because, even though the teens were arrested within days of the August attack, charges of a cover-up have dogged the case.

Part of that related to inaccurate reports early on that the local prosecutor’s son, who plays on the football team, was involved in the attack. The prosecutor took herself off the case and DeWine’s office stepped in.

The influence of the Big Red football team on community judgment was also questioned, with the coach and district criticized for allowing boys who witnessed the attack to continue playing that fall.

Testimony during the March trial indicated head football coach Reno Saccoccia may have been aware of the rape allegation early on. The coach knew what

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/Wv9eqESDXZ4/

How Verizon Talked Steve Jobs Into an LTE iPhone

By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

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The first 4G LTE-enabled smartphone that Verizon Wireless launched was the HTC Thunderbolt, which was released back in March 2011. Over the next year and a half, the rest of the Google Android army would follow suit with a slew of LTE devices for Big Red‘s network. While the technology promised incredibly fast speeds, battery life dampened popularity since early LTE phones were prone to running out of juice prematurely.

It wouldn’t be until September 2012 that Apple would launch the iPhone 5, its first LTE smartphone. Many questioned Apple’s competitive prospects in early 2012, saying the iPhone 4S couldn’t compete with newer Android flagships due to the lack of LTE. In technologies where Apple isn’t the first mover, its strategy is to perfect it. In the case of LTE, Apple’s advances in battery engineering allowed the iPhone 5 to maintain respectable battery life.

Speaking at the National Association of Broadcasters conference recently, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam provided some insight into how he was able to talk Steve Jobs into launching an LTE iPhone, even though the device wouldn’t be released until a year after Jobs’ death.

You had me at hello
McAdam notes that video content now comprises roughly 50% of all wireless traffic served up over Big Red‘s network. Verizon estimates that by 2017, that figure will climb to nearly 66%. With such overwhelming consumer demand for video streaming, 3G technologies were bottlenecking the experience since most video clips would need to buffer before properly playing back. With 4G LTE, streaming video could be viable.

The executive recalled how he convinced Jobs:

I was really trying to sell him and he sat there without any reaction. Finally, he said, “Enough. You had me at 10 Mbps. I know you can stream video at 10 Mbps.” And Apple’s next phone was LTE.

Naturally, knowing how important video streaming is played a factor in Verizon’s partnership with Coinstar to launch Redbox Instant to challenge Netflix. Redbox Instant still isn’t a match for the dominant video streamer, but it’s a start.

There is a debate raging as to whether Apple remains a buy. The Motley Fool’s senior technology analyst and managing bureau chief, Eric Bleeker, is prepared to fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Apple, and what opportunities are left for the company (and your portfolio) going forward. To get instant access to his latest thinking on Apple, simply click here now.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Not Even Facebook Can Save This Smartphone Maker

By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

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It’s been a rough couple of years for Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC. Once upon a time, it was the cream of the Android crop. Nowadays, South Korean rival Samsung has supplanted the company, primarily with advantages in distribution and marketing. With marketing being one of its biggest weaknesses, the company has realized that the whole “Quietly Brilliant” motto wasn’t working so well, promising to take a louder approach going forward.

HTC is also partnering with Facebook to launch the HTC First, which will be the first device to feature Facebook Home. Pairing up with the social network will certainly appeal to avid Facebookers looking to get their hands on the first real Facebook Phone, but ultimately the First is a mid-range device that won’t be able to turn the tables. That job is up to the HTC One.

Unfortunately for HTC, suppliers no longer consider it a “tier-one” smartphone maker, so it has been having trouble getting all the ingredients it needs. Cameras, in particular, are bottlenecking production, and HTC was forced to delay the global launch of its One device. The One delays have contributed to HTC posting its lowest profits on record.

HTC‘s bottom line in the first quarter was just $2.8 million. Revenue was down 37% to $1.4 billion, below even the low end of its guidance. In February, HTC guided to first-quarter sales of $1.7 billion to $2 billion.

A recent Chipworks teardown showed that HTC is sourcing cameras from STMicroelectronics and OmniVision . STMicroelectronics is providing the primary rear camera, which is a 4-megapixel shooter that HTC is hoping will dispel the megapixel myth in the smartphone camera wars. OmniVision is supplying the front-facing 2-megapixel sensor.

The primary sensor is the first backside-illuminated sensor that Chipworks has seen from STMicroelectronics, a technology in which OmniVision used to enjoy first-mover advantage. That’s notable because OmniVIsion offers a sensor with identical specs, yet STM was still able to score the design win. However, it’s also possible that HTC is dual sourcing (Chipworks only tore down one unit), but that implied commoditization isn’t necessarily a good thing, either. It’s not clear which of these companies is the supply chain culprit that’s holding back the One.

Everything is quite literally riding on the One. The flagship launches domestically this month, barely beating Samsung’s Galaxy S4 to market. Still, Samsung’s same advantages will still apply. For example, the Galaxy S4 will be available on all four major U.S. carriers, while HTC said the One won’t reach Verizon Wireless (the biggest of the four). AllThingsD reports that the One will indeed make its way to Big Red‘s network eventually, so perhaps HTC was playing coy.

For HTC, the One will make or break the company in 2013.

It’s incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out “Who Will …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

How Dividends Lift Verizon's Stock

By Anders Bylund, The Motley Fool

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It’s a well-known fact that Verizon offers one of the strongest dividends on the Dow Jones Industrial Average . But how do these generous payouts really affect Verizon’s stock?

With a current yield of 4.2%, Big Red offers the second-largest yield on the blue-chip index, just behind arch rival AT&T ‘s 4.7% and virtually tied with Intel .

Verizon’s dividends make a huge difference in the long run. The stock itself has been lagging behind the average Dow peer over the last 10 years, but the tables are turned if you reinvested Verizon’s dividend checks into more Verizon stock:

VZ data by YCharts.

Verizon shares get a massive adrenaline shot from dividends, but not by boosting the policy by drastic amounts. Like Ma Bell’s, Verizon’s capital-intensive business has been mature for decades, leaving little room for outrageous growth. Not even the smartphone boom of the last five years did much to juice the giants’ top lines. And so their dividends keep growing like racing turtles; slow and steady wins the race.

VZ Dividend data by YCharts

By contrast, Intel has doubled its sales and increased dividend payouts ninefold over the same period. But then, that raging growth leaves the stock open to value-destroying damage if Intel’s growth slows down. The purported “death of the PC” is doing some of that dirty work right now.

Verizon stock is largely immune to such high expectations. Its investors are happy with a slower rise in share prices and dividend payouts. Verizon is a conservative stock for risk-averse investors.

Interested in Intel?
When it comes to dominating markets, it doesn’t get much better than Intel’s position in the PC microprocessor arena. However, that market is maturing, and Intel must find new avenues for growth. In this premium research report on Intel, our analyst runs through all of the key topics investors should understand about the chip giant. Click here now to learn more.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ eventType: “TickerReportPitch”, contentByline: “Anders Bylund”, contentId: …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

No, Verizon Doesn't Want to Ditch Contracts

By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

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There were recent reports that Verizon  CEO Lowell McAdam would be interested in ditching service contracts. However, this isn’t likely to be the case, since the major carriers — Verizon, AT&T , and Sprint Nextel  — have spent years building fortresses around subsidies and contracts to reduce the risk of becoming commoditized service providers. Big Red is certainly watching how T-Mobile’s big move away from contracts works out, and could adapt if need be.

In the following video, Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, explains why Verizon definitely doesn’t want to get rid of contracts.

If you’re on the lookout for high-yielding stocks, The Motley Fool has compiled a special free report outlining our nine top dependable dividend-paying stocks. It’s called “Secure Your Future With 9 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks.” You can access your copy today at no cost! Just click here.

The article No, Verizon Doesn’t Want to Ditch Contracts originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, owns shares of Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

How AT&amp;T and Verizon Made T-Mobile's iPhone a Reality

By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

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In the wireless war over smartphone subscribers, Apple‘s iPhone has proven to be an invaluable weapon. AT&T‘s initial and risky bet to carry the device sight unseen paid off in spades, as Ma Bell started scooping up lucrative smartphone users en masse. Verizon Wireless took note and once it became an iPhone carrier, it promptly began to outpace its smaller rival in smartphone subscriber growth.

Yesterday, T-Mobile finally became an official iPhone carrier, making Apple’s device available on all four of the largest domestic wireless carriers. Before that, the iPhone and T-Mobile were kept apart due to technical spectrum incompatibilities that relegated the iPhone to 2G data speeds for unlocked device users.

Source: T-Mobile.

As it turns out, both AT&T and Verizon played a part in facilitating their smaller rival getting Apple’s flagship — at long last making the T-Mobile iPhone a reality.

Ma Bell’s consolation prize
It seems like just yesterday that AT&T failed in its attempt to acquire T-Mobile, but that was nearly two years ago at this point. It was a jaw-dropping $39 billion deal when it was initially announced in 2011, one that would be heavily scrutinized and eventually vetoed by regulators, since the No. 2 and No. 4 players in the industry joining forces to take down the No. 1 had important and potentially negative implications on the overall competitive landscape.

That’s a stark contrast to regulator stance on T-Mobile’s proposed merger with MetroPCS , which amounts to the No. 4 and No. 5 players pairing up to put more competitive heat on the top three. Regulatory bodies have chosen not to object and will forever hold their peace regarding the union, so long as shareholders nod in approval.

The consolation prize for the failed acquisition included a $3 billion breakup fee from AT&T, made payable to T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom, and a negligible roaming agreement, but more importantly the smaller carrier also received Advanced Wireless Service, or AWS, spectrum licenses in 128 markets from Ma Bell.

Big Red’s big red heart
Fast forward six months and T-Mobile would separately ink a spectrum agreement with Verizon, purchasing or exchanging additional AWS licenses in 218 markets throughout the country. That greatly benefited T-Mobile’s spectrum position by allowing the carrier create more contiguous blocks of spectrum and realign its airwave holdings in adjacent markets. That boosted T-Mobile’s data performance and throughput speeds in numerous key markets, and was all made possible by the swap with Verizon.

Naturally, Verizon didn’t agree to the swap out of the kindness of its big red heart. Big Red had been looking to purchase a 20 MHz block of AWS spectrum for $3.9 billion from a handful of cable companies and was getting mean looks from regulators. The AWS swap helped pave the way for Verizon’s larger deal, even if it helped beef up T-Mobile’s network in the process.

The net result of all of this was that …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

These 2 Mobile Networks Will Almost Definitely Merge. Now What?

By Anders Bylund, The Motley Fool

PCS Revenue TTM Chart

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The proposed merger between MetroPCS and T-Mobile USA had to wade through acres of red tape before consummation. All the legal and regulatory hurdles have been vaulted, leaving MetroPCS shareholders to issue a final seal of approval.

The seal of approval. You’re very welcome.

It’s still not a completely done deal. MetroPCS’s largest shareholder, hedge fund Paulson & Co., has said that it will vote its 9.9% stake against the current deal structure. On the other hand, second-largest shareholder Madison Dearborn Partners will absolutely support this deal with an 8.3% vote block — one of the the investment firm’s managing directors will have a seat in the new T-Mobile/MetroPCS boardroom.

I wouldn’t exactly call it a nail-biter. MetroPCS could use the scale and the deep pockets that T-Mobile brings to the table. Its own cash flows have become dependably positive in recent years, but top-line growth has trailed off. The company needs some kind of catalyst to jump to the next level, and merging into T-Mobile would most definitely be a game-changer. In short, MetroPCS investors would be silly to turn this deal down.

PCS Revenue TTM data by YCharts

Time to take action
This is no time to rest on your laurels. Sprint Nextel , the other mini-major among the big four, will pose a serious threat as it combines with Japanese sugar daddy Softbank and high-speed network partner Clearwire later this year. That three-way combination puts Sprint’s large subscriber Rolodex together with Softbank’s cash reserves and maverick business ideas, underpinned by Clearwire’s generous spectrum license catalog. This Frankencarrier should scare the snot out of its direct rivals.

SprintBank and T-Metro might even worry Verizon and AT&T . Smaller networks often introduce more innovative and consumer-friendly choices than Ma Bell and Big Red, but they can’t compete with the near-duopoly’s brand awareness and nationwide network builds. Putting pressure on their business models with credible threats from below can only be good for consumers. Investors behind the usurpers will obviously benefit right away, but even AT&T and Verizon should wind up healthier in the long run amid more serious competition.

MetroPCS adds 9 million subscribers to T-Mobile’s list, creating a 42 million-strong customer pool. That’s in the same ballpark as Sprint’s 56 million subscribers, but it’s still far behind Verizon’s 98 million and AT&T’s 105 million.

The smaller network also expands Magenta’s network coverage in major metro areas. In particular, this deal should accelerate T-Mobile’s introduction of 4G LTE services. Oh, and T-Mobile is jumping the gun by acting as if it could change the mobile game all by itself: The company is expected to introduce all new service plans next week, doing away with handset subsidies entirely and basing your service payments on data plans only — everyone gets unlimited calling and texting.

Big changes ahead

There’s a fork in the road ahead, and it will make consumers …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Nokia Goes Bigger With Big Red

By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

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Late last year, Microsoft and Nokia hooked up with Verizon Wireless. The triad was notable because Big Red had mostly abandoned Windows Phone for a year and a half, focusing its efforts on Google Android.

Over the following months, it was clear that Verizon was giving Windows Phone another shot as it continued to expand its product portfolio on that platform, adding HTC’s Windows Phone 8X and Samsung’s ATIV Odyssey shortly thereafter. That brings Verizon’s Windows Phone lineup up to 4 devices. For some inexplicably strange reason, the priciest by a long shot is the HTC Trophy, a device that was launched in May 2011 and runs the un-upgradeable Windows Phone 7, while the rest run Windows Phone 8.

The Nokia device that heralded the renewed vows was its Lumia 822, a mid-range model initially priced at $100 on contract (currently free on contract). The Finnish vendor’s flagship Lumia 920 was still exclusive to AT&T at the time, but now The Verge is reporting that the Lumia 928 is debuting on Big Red‘s network next month.

Lumia 920. Source: Nokia.

That device is more than just a variant of the Lumia 920, and is reportedly getting a fancy aluminum casing of higher quality than the polycarbonate used in the 920. On top of that, the 928 should get a xenon and LED flash combination for the shutter bugs out there. The overall weight and thickness should both be reduced as a result of these changes, even though the overall design is still very similar. The 928 will have a 4.5-inch OLED display, while the regular 920 doesn’t use OLED.

Nokia’s Lumia sales have been on the rise, lifting Windows Phone‘s market share in tow. The company moved 4.4 million units last quarter, which was the majority of the estimated 6 million Windows Phones sold. Getting distribution of a high-end device on the largest domestic carrier will add to that momentum.

Nokia’s been struggling in a world of Apple and Android smartphone dominance. However, the company has banked its future on its next generation of Windows smartphones. Motley Fool analyst Charly Travers has created a new premium report that digs into both the opportunities and risks facing Nokia to help investors decide if the company is a buy or sell. To get started, simply click here now.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Steubenville Football Players Ma’Lik Richmond And Trent Mays Go To Trial For Alleged Rape

By The Huffington Post News Editors

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two high school football players go on trial this coming week on charges of raping a nearly passed-out-drunk 16-year-old girl during a night of partying in Steubenville. Around the football-powerhouse city, some are demanding to know why at least three other teens aren’t facing charges, too.

After the athletes’ arrest last summer, one of the many rumors that swirled around town proved all too true: Three boys, two of them members of Steubenville High‘s celebrated Big Red team, saw something happening that night and didn’t try to stop it.

Read More…
More on Video

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

2 Ohio high school football players face trial in rape case

Two high school football players go on trial this coming week on charges of raping a nearly passed-out-drunk 16-year-old girl during a night of partying in Steubenville. Around the football-powerhouse city, some are demanding to know why at least three other teens aren’t facing charges, too.

After the athletes’ arrest last summer, one of the many rumors that swirled around town proved all too true: Three boys, two of them members of Steubenville High‘s celebrated Big Red team, saw something happening that night and didn’t try to stop it.

Instead, two pulled out their cellphones and took video and a photo.

The allegations shocked and roiled the city of 18,000, but prosecutors brought no charges against the witnesses, fueling months of furious online accusations of a cover-up to protect the team — something law enforcement authorities have vehemently denied.

One blogger wrote a post was headlined: “Steubenville Big Red Rape Accusations: The Other Perpetrators.”

“Anyone that they can show had firsthand knowledge and was partly in some way responsible for the event, the rape, they should be charged,” said Jackie Hillyer, president of the Ohio chapter of the National Organization for Women. She is among those pressing, at a minimum, for charges of failure to report a crime, which is punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine.

Longtime Steubenville resident Willa Wade said: “I feel personally that if they were there, they knew it had happened, they did not report it or stop it, then they ought to be brought up on the same charges as anybody else.”

The Ohio attorney general’s office, however, informed the three witnesses in a letter last fall that while they may not have conducted themselves “in a responsible or appropriate manner,” their behavior “did not rise to the level of criminal conduct,” and they would not be charged.

Legal experts said it is clear prosecutors sorely need the witnesses’ testimony to make their rape case because there is little physical evidence against the defendants and the girl may have been too intoxicated to remember much.

“This prosecutor more than anything else wants to get a conviction of the culprits and he does not want to jeopardize that single-minded goal,” said Christo Lassiter, a University of Cincinnati criminal law professor. “That’s the conservative approach. Above all else, get the main culprit. If you can get the other folks along the line, fine.”

Ma’Lik Richmond, 16, and Trent Mays, 17, go on trial Wednesday in juvenile court in Steubenville. They are charged with digitally penetrating the girl, first in the back seat of a moving car after a mostly underage, alcohol-fueled party Aug. 11, and then in the basement of a house. Witnesses said the girl was so drunk she threw up at least twice and had trouble walking and speaking. She was also photographed being carried by the two young men.

If convicted, they could be held in a juvenile jail until they turn 21. They have denied any wrongdoing.

The Associated Press normally does not identify minors charged in juvenile court, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

Does Verizon Want T-Mobile to Succeed?

By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

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Wireless carriers have a love-hate relationship with smartphone subsidies. T-Mobile is making a risky move later this year when it ditches them altogether. The No. 4 domestic carrier is facing stiff competition in the postpaid market, in part because it has always lacked Apple‘s iPhone in any official capacity.

As T-Mobile pursues its unsubsidized plan, the rest of the industry will be watching with bated breath to see how customers respond to the prospect of paying full retail price for smartphones, even if they can obtain financing to do so. Spanish carriers have already showed T-Mobile of what kind of pain may be in store, since their own attempts proved to be a disaster. Two months ago, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam expressed interest in ditching subsidies, but acknowledged that consumers aren’t ready to give them up.

Shammo speaks
At the Deutsche Bank 2013 Media, Internet, & Telecom Conference, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said that he believes smartphone subsidies will decline in the coming years as competition heats up. While the platform landscape continues to currently be dominated by iOS and Google Android, Shammo sees rivalry from Microsoft Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10 putting downward pressure on subsidies. Shammo added, “I’m a believer that over the next two to three years subsidies will start to decrease just because of the ecosystems.”

According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech’s most recent estimates, over 95% of smartphone sales in the U.S. are either iOS or Android. Verizon has a vested interest in seeing that combined figure decline, with the hopes that subsidies will fall along with it.

Additionally, Shammo sees voice-over-LTE as another catalyst for subsidy deterioration, as devices will technically be able to remove the CDMA chips inside and reduce component costs. Big Red is planning on rolling out VoLTE later this year. That doesn’t mean that Verizon’s 3G CDMA network is going anywhere, though, as the carrier previously said it was aiming for 2021 as a possible retirement date for its 2G and 3G networks. But as newer devices shift toward VoLTE, that could affect its ongoing subsidy costs.

Foolish doubts
However, one challenge that I see Verizon facing with this prediction is that the rest of the world simply isn’t anywhere near that stage in the game. Outside of the U.S., LTE networks are either nonexistent or in their infancy. Verizon is well ahead of the pack with its LTE network in the U.S., which now covers 480 markets, but the fact remains that smartphone vendors highly prefer to build devices with broad global compatibility whenever possible.

In order for a subsidy reduction to materialize due to VoLTE, Verizon will need to convince (or require) OEMs to build devices specifically tailored for its network and lacking older CDMA chips, while manufacturers will still need to build devices with CDMA chips for other networks around the world. As mobile gatekeepers, wireless carriers get a lot of leverage and it’s still feasible that Verizon …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Defense attorney pushes to have Steubenville rape trial moved

The attorney for one of two Ohio high school football players charged with raping a 16-year-old girl wants the trial closed to the media and moved out of Steubenville, a small town he says has been torn apart by the emotionally-charged case.

Walter Madison, who represents defendant Ma’lik Richmond, said he fears witnesses who could help corroborate his client’s story are too intimidated to come forward in the eastern Ohio town of about 19,000. The case and alleged cover-up have generated widespread media coverage, and condemnation from victims’ rights groups, area residents and even computer hackers who have distributed evidence in the case.

“I want witness participation,” Madison told FoxNews.com, claiming some individuals in “seeming support” of his client have been “vilified” on social media websites.”They’re intimidated,” he said. “They don’t want to participate.”

But finding anyone sympathetic to the defendants may be nearly impossible, no matter where the case is tried. The details of the case, and photos and cellphone video that later appeared online are shocking and sickening, by any standard. The victim who is said to have been unconscious, was allegedly carried around to a series of parties on Aug. 11-12 by members of the Steubenville High football team. The girl was allegedly sexually assaulted at least twice — first in the back of a car — as others watched and snapped pictures. At lease one of those photos, showing the victim being dragged by her wrists and ankles, appeared online.

Richmond and Trent Mays, both 16, are facing formal rape accusations in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a West Virginia girl in August. Their attorneys have denied the charges in court.Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said he was told by the Ohio Division of Public Safety that people using false names on Facebook were threatening to harm his family.

“Besides making threats against my family, yhey threatened to come in and shoot up the kids at Big Red,” Abdalla told FoxNews.com.

Abdalla pushed back against claims that law enforcement did not thoroughly investigate the alleged crime, saying, “Some people got sick minds. Some people live in the sewer.”

“If God from heaven came down right now and said there’s no cover-up, some would still say there was,” he said. “We had a crime scene investigator in here from Day 1.”

FoxNews.com’s Cristina Corbin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News