that's identified as malik richmond.id this photograph, he used the term staged, however he says about that photograph, that in fact in it, the girl is not unconscious and that he has a witness, a potential witness, who will testify at trial to that effect, to say that this young lady was not unconscious. i said, what do you mean by using the term staged? he says that what i mean is that if she was -- if she wasn't -- excuse me, if she wasn't unconscious, in other words, she was conscious when that photograph was taken, that would mean that even though at some point during the evening she might have been unconscious, but if she was able to make decisions or offer consent at some time during the night, even though she might have been intoxicated, and he adds that his client and the young lady were dating at the time, and if they had sexual relations and he's not acknowledging that, then nothing would have been illegal. so sanjay, this is something that's also very interesting. remember, his client denies that a rape occur

first, the 17-year-old who was in the car with the two defendants, trent mays and malik richmond as well as the accuser. here is his description of her physical state before leaving the second of three parties for a third party. question, and what, if anything, dedid you notice about her behavior? he answers, she was very drunk. how do you know that? just like the way she -- she wasn't like fully capable of walking on her own. and another question, what made you think she wasn't fully capable of walking? >> she was stumbling and we had to help her. >> who was we? well, trent and malik helped her. he said on the way to the car, the woman vomited and she ended up in the car with mays and richmond. at that point, according to this witness, mays began performing a sexual act on her while he, the witness, says was -- the witness says he was videotaping it on his cell phone. the prosecutor then asked him what the accuser was doing. answer, she was just sitting there not really doing anything. the prosecutor asked, was she making any noise? she was, she was kind of talking but i couldn't make o

unfolding in steubenville, ohio, two 16-year-olds charged, and i want to say that we said that malik richmondd his name is malik richardson, in fact, cnn wants to correct any of the reporting that we've been doing on this case. it's not richardson. his name is malik richmond, one of the 16-year-olds who is charged and also along with him the 16-year-old trent mays, both charged with the alleged rape of an underaged girl. their trial is set to get under way on the 13th of next movez and defense attorney joey jackson joins us now. first question to you, whenever you have a rape case, evidence is critical and evidence is difficult in most cases. in this particular case physical evidence is next to impossible because the young alleged victim did not even know about this until postings and reports came out. thus, it was days before she told her parents and her parents reported it. so, physical evidence, rape kits, et cetera, nonexistent. >> do you know what, ashleigh, it makes it more difficult to move forward in a case like this when you don't have the physical evidence. obviously if you have phy

first we want to talk to walter madison who represents the other defend, malik richmond. you were probably listening to my colleague, susan candiotti talking about the fact that trent mays claims that the alleged victim sent a text message to him the day after the alleged rape saying, quote, i know you didn't rape me. are you aware -- first of all, were you aware of this text message? >> all parties have that information. unfortunately, well, fortunately, because we respect the intig ready of the process, we were silent about that, and we were going to allow that to play itself out in a court of law. unfortunately, the situation has unraveled in a way that it has, and it's created an atmosphere that we feel is unfair. my business is malik richmond, and his trial proceedings are being threatened, quite frankly, hijacked. and the court of public opinion has formed, and their pride has been aroused now because typically we're all raised to protect elderly, women, and children. in this instance, you have an allegation coupled with a video that has zero evidentiary value, a ph

sir, you represent one of the accused boys, malik richmond. does your client explain the photo taken in which he is shown holding the alleged victim by her hands or feet? >> well, a photograph is just a moment in time. it's that millimeter or millisecond, however the shutter speed is set on the particular camera. and although pictures can be misleading and in this case out of context, it does not suggest the activity prior to the photo being taken and/or after the photo that was taken. and obviously it's a still so there's no audio. there will be evidence and discussion around the circumstances before and after the photograph. the context of the whole entire evening in particular at that time with the photo, it's really unfair that it's made its way around the internet in the fashion that it has. and this is one of the major problems we're encountering at this point with social media. >> let me interrupt for just a moment. it's not a question that the photo is making its way around the internet. the problem is that the photo exists at all. if

. >> i want to bring in walter madison, attorney for malik richmond, attorney for one of the teens.case is dividing america in many ways. your client, along with his friend, is, you know, public enemy number one right now. how do you defend him? >> quite simply. piers, first thing i want to make clear for everyone that they should understand really well, malik richmond has nothing to do with that video mr. fits simons premises that statement when he says defendants. he nothing to do with the video, not depicted, didn't produce the video. he has not disseminated the material and no evidence that he promoted what we've seen on the internet. the other problem in terms of defending him, we have to right the ship. one of the problems, mr. fits simons has aligned himself with rape crisis centers, et cetera, and movements if you will, that issue can't be put on the back of my client. he deserves a fair trial. there is an atmosphere in that community, just today, the schools on lockdown. there was a death threat. i don't know what attendance will be like the rest of the week there at school

i spoke with walter madison, attorney for accused teen malik richmond.r client admitted to being there and admitted to being with this young woman on that night? >> well, subsequent to the photograph, there's evidence that she was conscious and that she was capable of making decisions and speaking and exhibited, you know, decision making activities. so, again, the question -- the photo is out of context, and those are the things we must wait to see. >> defense attorney for the other accused teen spoke with our see san candiotti. he claims a text message may be a crucial piece of evidence in the upcoming trial. >> i would like to bring up an interesting fact that we do plan on presenting at trial is that my client received a text message the following day from the alleged victim, the alleged victim herself, stating that she said i know you didn't rape me. >> what? >> she texted my client the next day stating, quote, i know you didn't rape me. >> do you have that text? >> we do, and that is something that's going to be introduced at trial. >> and did he re

malik helped her. she vomited. shenn he testified she ended up with mays and richmond. richmond in the front, she and mays in the back seat. at that point according to the witness mays began performing a sexual act on her while he, the witness says he was videotaping it on his cell phone. now, the prosecutor then asked him what the accuser was doing. answer, she was just sitting there not really doing anything. the prosecutor asked, was she making any noise? she was -- she was kind of talking but i couldn't make out the words that she was saying. again, all of this allegedly took place on the ride from the second to the third party that night where malik richmond allegedly raped the young woman. and again, this witness, the driver, says she was already very drunk back at the second party. something another witness corroborates, calling her, quote, out of it, unquote. he goes on to say, it looked like the accuser was trying to go to sleep. he then describes how the two defendants got her to the car. he says trend was holding her by the hands and malik was holding her by

sir, you represent one of the accused boys, malik richmond. does your client explain the photo taken in which he is shown holding the alleged victim by her hands or feet? >> well, a photograph is just a moment in time. it's that millimeter or millisecond, however the shutter speed is set on the particular camera. and although pictures can be misleading and in this case out of context, it does not suggest the activity prior to the photo being taken and/or after the photo that was taken. and obviously it's a still so there's no audio. there will be evidence and discussion around the circumstances before and after the photograph. the context of the whole entire evening in particular at that time with the photo, it's really unfair that it's made its way around the internet in the fashion that it has. and this is one of the major problems we're encountering at this point with social media. >> let me interrupt for just a moment. it's not a question that the photo is making its way around the internet. the problem is that the photo exists at all. if

. >> reporter: that's why the upcoming rape trial of two star football players, malik richmond and trent mays, named publicly in court, their faces concealed because they are 16, is rocking this community. they have pleaded not guilty. >> shame on you! >> reporter: with hundreds of protesters supporting the 16-year-old accuser, known only as jane doe, who prosecutors insist was subjected to several sexual assaults against her will. the case exploding on social media, images purporting to show the defendants carrying the alleged victim, unconscious, the night in question. and video showing teenagers making fun of the girl, released by online activists, including the group, anonymous. >> you can hide no longer. >> reporter: most known for hacking into government websites to expose what it sees as wrongdoing. it accuses the town of turning a blind eye to other athletes allegedly involved, to protect the beloved big red nation. police say even though the behavior seen online is offensive, only two young men actually committed a crime. >> to take anything to a court of law, you have to have e

confirm that the teens holding her are the football stars and the alleged ripes trent maize and malik richmond, both 16 years old. she didn't know she was allegedly raped and humiliated. rather tweets, texts, compromising pictures that tell the story. this one, the song of the night is definitely rape me by nirvana, a family member saw the evidence online just days later the family went to police. and the two star players arrested. >> we as a country need to understand that the consent means that saying yes, i want this. and anything short of that and it means that this type of contact, it is nonconsensual, which is rape. >> reporter: he helps victims. the reason for being. >> here we have people that are not only looking away, but video taping it, taking pictures, sharing it through social media. >> reporter: it comes to trial in february. lawyers for the two players said they didn't rape the victims. many say it bears a resemblance to the sex abuse case. >> people saw the sexual assault take place and they did not act or intervene. and i think that the general response from what we have seen

malik richmond's defense attorney, walter madison, said his client has been smeared by social media. >> you have individuals with anonymous user names and they say and do anything without any acountability. and the accountability being absent, there is an absence of reliability. >> reporter: mad ton told cbs news by phone today that trent mays received a text message from the girl just days after the alleged assault that read, "i know you didn't rape me." cbs news has not been able to independently verify the existence of that text. in a statement today, a lawyer for the alleged victim told cbs news, "the allegations in this case are that the young teenage victim was raped while she was unconscious. she would, therefore, have absolutely no knowledge of what was or was not done to her that evening." he add, "a picture speaks a thousands wors." the two players will stand trial on the rape charges next month in juvenile court. elaine quijano, cbs news, new york. >> axelrod: moving overseas now, syria's state-run news agency said president bashar al-assad will make a rare speech to the n

he is 16-year-old malik richmond, who as i mentioned is a juvenile, but has been identified by a judgecourt. you yourself have identified him, so that's why we're moving forward and using his name. there are so many sides to this story. what is your side? >> at this particular point, his right to a fair trial, anyone's right to a fair trial is being hijacked. we live in a country with the greatest legal system in the world, and only great because the system actually works. but if it were to work properly, individuals who are concerned must participate, and one of the main concerns this matter, by special interest groups all over the world, tried in the court of public opinion. and in a court of law there, are rules that would exclude such information and evidence as being inadmissible, inflammatory, misleading and misconception, and, therefore, not relevant. >> that's precisely why we have you on this morning. we want to make sure we're getting your side here. let's get to some specifics. we're talking about this young woman, you said previously . i'm quoting you. the victim voluntaril

my business is my client, malik richmond. >> how is your client doing?well, all of these people involved here are juveniles. and we have a juvenile system that is designed to make allowances for people who are not mature enough to make decisions that potentially could affect the rest of their lives. at one point, we wanted to prosecute these young boys as adults. there was a hearing and there was an independent evaluation from a psychologist. and it was determined that they are just inappropriate candidates for adult prosecution. >> okay. and let's not forget, clearly, innocent until proven guilty. will this case remain in juvenile court and if so, will the evidence and this case be sealed? >> well, you mentioned a few things there. the matter is a juvenile matter. there was a determination about that. and it will remain there. and the presumption of innocence, we would like to enjoy that. however, that has been destroyed. it's essentially at this point a legal lynching. you have not just the allegation that we must defend against at this point based upo

. >> malik richmond's lawyer said his client would file similar motions.m about some of the evidence that's turned up on social media. >> the photo is making its way around the internet. the problem is, the photo exists at all. if it weren't for the evidence, the tweets, the postings and the various social media, this case wouldn't be getting the attention that it's gotten so far. does your client admit to having sex with the alleged victim? >> in this case, those particular facts we have to allow the court to examine and -- so that they can be fully vetted. one of the things that really troubles all parties here is that we're all looking for justice. that's what this system is designed to do. the fact that the ultimate question of whether or not there was sex, in this state there are multiple ways other than a traditional concept of sex, that one may be accused of rape. so there could be digital penetration, oral penetration or that with an object. i'm not specifying what is the allegation or which is the method for the state at this point. what i'm sayin

now, two 16-year-old high school football players trent mays and malik richmond are charged with theof a 16-year-old girl who lived just across the river from steubenville. august 11, mays and richmond along with the 16-year-old girl go party hopping. according to witnesses she is so drunk she can't walk. this disturbing photo appears to show the limp body of an unconscious girl being carried by her kist and ankles. hacker group calling itself anonymous posted this photo along with this explosive video where even a graduate of the high school joked about the incident. what if that was your daughter? >> i couldn't care. i would let her be dead. >> many accused the school and the football crazed town of a coverup. they say the big red players get special treatment. school superintendent michael mcvay disagrees. >> football is part of our system but they are no better than the other programs. >> steubenville police arrested the two teens ten days after the alleged rape. residents now hope justice will be served. >> that courthouse right there. whatever is going to happen, let it happen

. >> reporter: attorneys for the accused, trent mays on the right, and malik richmond on the left, both 16, identified them in this photograph holding the alleged victim, also 16, who is not being publicly named. both sides debate whether she was conscious at this moment. during a long night of drinking at several parties last august, according to witnesses who testified at this hearing last october. prosecutors told a juvenile court they have evidence she was raped. >> she was unresponsive and not in a position of consent and they knew about it. and let's be clear. they knew she was drunk. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with cnn, mays' lawyer claims his client received a text, allegedly sent by the teenage girl. it reads, quote, i know you didn't rape me. do you have that text? >> we do. that is something that is going to be introduced at trial. >> reporter: and did he reply? >> that's something that's going to be introduced at trial. yes. >> reporter: why do you think she sent that? >> because i don't think she thinks she was raped. >> reporter: he would not show that or any o

piers, first thing i want to make clear for everyone that they should understand really well, malik richmonds nothing to do with that video. mr. fitzsimmons premised his statement when he says defendants, and he lumps them together. ma'lik richmond had nothing to do with the video. he's not depicted. he didn't produce the video. he was never charged nor is he charged with disseminating any material or is there any evidence whatsoever that he sent any photographs or promoted what we've seen on the internet. okay? now, the other problem that we have in terms of defending him, we have to right the ship. one of the problems is mr. fitzsimmons has aligned himself with, you know, rape crisis centers, et cetera and movements, if you will. that issue can't be put on the back of my client. he deserves a fair trial. there is an atmosphere in that community, just today the schools were on lockdown. there was a death threat. i don't know what attendance will be like for the rest of the week there at school. but there were witnesses in that community that were willing to come in on behalf of my client. >

. >> reporter: attorneys for the accused, trent maize on the right and malik richmond on the left, both 16, identify them in this photograph holding the alleged victim, also 16, who is not being publicly named. both sides debate whether she was conscious at this moment. during a long night of drinking at several parties last suggest, according to witnesses who testified at this hearing last october. prosecutors told a juvenile court they have evidence she was raped. >> she was unresponsive and not in a position of consent, and they knew about it, and let's be clear. they knew she was drunk. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with cnn, maize' lawyer claims his client received a text allegedly sent by the teenage girl. it reads, quote, i know you didn't rape me. >> do you have that text? >> we do, and that's something that will be introduced at trial. >> reporter: and did he reply in. >> that's something that's going to be introduced at trial, yes. >> reporter: why do you think she sent that? >> because i don't think she thinks she was raped. >> reporter: he would not show that or any

it shows trent mays and malik richmond carrying a girl. girl claims she had no memory of her alleged assault until she saw posts online where people said something vile had happened to her that night. >> rape. it is rape. they raped her. they raped her. >> reporter: on twitter many wrote that the young woman was not a victim. she was called a whore, somehow called deserving of the assault. >> so much information has gone up on the internet and really what we're seeing is the young victim is being victimized day after day after day. >> reporter: but it helped disclose the suspects. when the posts were pulled down, members of the group anonymous and other activists took up the cause and resurrected the online cause. >> we will not stand tightly and watch them. >> reporter: local officials with ties to the football team withdrew from the case. prosecutors for the ohio attorney general stepped in. >> we're not going to leave this case until we're satisfied that everyone who is guilty of a crime or who we believe the evidence shows is guilty of

and with us now are walter madison, defense attorney for one of the accused, malik richmond and jean casarez for "insession" on truetrutv. jean is also an attorney. walter, you want the case moved out of steubenville. why is that so important? >> it's important because of the atmosphere. the community has been tainted. it's small community and i think it sets itself up for the intimidation that's occurred. we're not quite prepared to deal with this social media machine and force and witnesses are reluctant to come forward. what happens the effect for my client is he's being denied a fair trial. >> the other defendant in this case has his own representation. that representation has also pushed to make this an off off-the-record case where the press wouldn't be allowed to engage and hear the proceedings of the trial. is that something you agree with? >> actually they did not request it. that was my motion. i was the only party who had a motion before the court and i withdrew that yesterday. >> why? >> what i wanted to do was assure that witnesses felt comfortable in participating the p

that video has nothing to do with malik richmond. he was not present.not produce that video. >> was he one of the people involved in that photo, though? is he seen in that photo? >> he is seen in that photo. the other problem becomes that the photo taken in conjunction with the video draws this negative inference that's gone way out of proportion. and the video, as we know, it can be reduced to that young man's form of expression. >> let me ask you two real quick questions. one, do you think you can get a fair trial for this defendant in this town? >> we cannot. matt, it has gone to the point where witnesses are reluctant to participate for fear of being vilified and placed personal information on the internet. >> and the question to you, there's been talk that other people may have been involved in this incident this night and perhaps they are being protected because they are part of this football team, and this town reveres this football team. is that within consideration on your part? do you think there are others involved? >> i have no comment to th

all i can do is insure that malik richmond gets a fair opportunity. is an atmosphere where witnesses are reluctant to come forward that would assist in that fact-finding process for fear of being os tr being ostracized, painted as a villan for their future jeopardized i think a fair trial is completely destroyed. one remedy that the system allows for is to change venue. the system can protect itself and we ought to support that. bill: you heard what the sheriff said. the sheriff believes people have made up their minds already. in a case like this who would want to cover up any of this. he's talking about going back and having to reinterest due 59 different witnesses that the police department has already done. he's made the decision not to do that. for the time being it is your client and one other young man accused sir. we're going to watch this story. thank you, sir, walter madison is the attorney for one of the accused out of cleveland, hive today. thank you. 22 minutes before the hour, it's getting hot by the week, the story in staou steubenville

. >> 16-year-old defendants trent mays and malik richmond are charged with raping the girl during a night> missing skydiver kurt rupert disappeared last thursday after jumping out of a helicopter. a rescue team is scouring the cascade mountains for rupert. authorities believe the missing man jumped from 6,500 seat while wearing a special wing suit, which allows a skydiver to soar and glide before deploying a parachute. >>> bashar al assad making it clear he's not about to step down. made his first public speech in six months this week epd, dismissing any chance of peace talks with rebel forces, dismissing them as murderous criminals. >>> rand paul's son facing charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct after being arrested at north carolina airport. william hilton paul arrested at charlotte douglas airport after flying in from kentucky. senator paul's office issued a statement, asking his family's privacy be respected in a story like this. >>> prison guards in brazil spotted this cat as it was trying to enter the prison on new year's eve. they say the cat had an amazing amount

trent mays was holding her by her hands and malik ma'lik richmond was holding her by her feet.is, how did they get out of the basement that way and the answer, investigators got, they just -- they carried her out through the door out into the street.

now the defense attorney for one of the accused, malik richmond confirms to cnn that his client is into but said the photo is out of context. we can't tell from the photo whether the girl is conscious or not. her lawyer said she was somewhat conscious. what could the defense attorney mean by "taken out of context"? does this help or hurt the defense team? >> the defense attorney is obviously saying just because two boys are moving an apparently drunken girl doesn't mean anybody engaged in sexual activity with the girl. his context is going to be different from the context that prosecutors talk about. but i think the thing that interests me in this context argument is that these kids, watching sexual activity like this and maybe a rape go on normally would not be guilty of any crime. people are shocked to know a group of boys can stand around and watch a crime, it is not a crime to do that. however, if they recorded the crime on their cell phone and deleted what they recorded, they could be guilty of obstruction of justice and could be drawn into this conspiracy and crime in a way that

today angry protesters are gathered in stuppenville ohio where two high school football players, malik richmond are accused of rape agunderage girl. the police chief talked about the investigation and a video that surfaced showing some teens joking about the alleged rape. >> early in the case during the first week after we were made aware of this incident we obtained this video. i too as all my officers who investigated this were appalled by these morally inept statements made. the new prosecutors, the special prosecutors for the high attorney ag's office, everything was submitted to them. they decide what charges if any would be filed. >> i asked national correspondent susan candiotti earlier why so many people had turned up for this protest. >> they don't think some of them that police have done a thorough job of investigating it. they allege that there has been a cover-up. now authorities and the city insist that there has been no cover-up, that they are doing a thorough investigation and that the people that have been charged will have justice done at a trial coming up next month. but there