Within days of the August 2012 sexual assault of a 16-year-old Weirton, West Virginia, girl by two Steubenville football players, allegations were made that school officials tried to cover up the crime. Nearly a year and a half later, the public knows very little about what really happened.

Former Steubenville school Superintendent Michael McVey had been scheduled to go on trial this week on various charges that he obstructed justice and falsified records linked to the case and another situation involving an underage girl in April 2012.

But after McVey, who had been on leave, resigned his post last Monday, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office dropped charges against him. …

Just one person, former school district technology director William Rhinaman, remains accused of tampering with evidence and obstructing justice. His trial has not yet been scheduled. …

McVey’s decision to resign, made in exchange for having the charges dropped, may indicate he had some culpability in the alleged coverup.

But without a trial, details of what he was accused of doing may never come to light. …

But the public – Steubenville residents in particular – has heard so many allegations of attempted obstruction of justice that there is an understandable hunger to know more about what happened. DeWine’s office should, if possible, provide more specifics about what was done in the alleged coverup.

 

The Warren Tribune Chronicle