Marina Lonina and Raymond Gates, suspects in the rape and kidnapping of a 17-year-old girl (Photo : You Tube/BBC News)
Marina Lonina, an 18-year-old student of New Albany High School in Columbus, Ohio, has been arrested for multiple charges including kidnapping and broadcasting the rape of her friend via a live-streaming site. Her alleged boyfriend, Raymond Gates, 29, was tagged as the rapist.
The jury from Franklin County charged Lonina and Gates with two counts of rape, one count each for kidnapping, sexual battery and five counts of child pornography. Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said that the incident took place on Feb. 27, at a home located along Christina Lane of the Northeast Side.
O'Brien said that the 17-year-old victim was drinking with her friend Lonina and Gates when the latter forced her to have sexual intercourse. While the rape is happening, Lonina took out her mobile phone and began live streaming the activity through the social media app called Periscope.
Commenting on the incident, one parent from New Albany High School named Dawndie Smith told 10tv, "It's not human. It isn't a human reaction to record something like that." He added that what happened was vile and very disturbing.
It was learned that Lonina also took and published nude photos of the victim, the day before the assault. This act had led to additional charge of two counts of using an underage in nudity-oriented materials.
The crime was only discovered when a friend of Lonina contacted the police after seeing the live footage being broadcast online. O'Brien explained that the victim was not able to resist the attack because the alcohol impaired her ability to give or refuse consent.
"The alcohol accounts for the stupidity of what was done with the live-streaming," he said. The prosecutor further said that the case is the first in the county, where the assault was streamed for everyone to watch in real-time.
According to The Washington Post, through her lawyer Josh Bedtelyon, Lonina denied all the charges hurled against her. In case of Gates, he does not have a legal representative yet who can comment on the accusations, but he is set for arraignment on Friday, April 15.
Finally, the court stated that if Lonina and Gates would be found guilty for all the complaint, both of them are likely to get a 40-year imprisonment term.
Watch the video below to see the indictment of Gates for rape, kidnapping and pandering:
