Steubenville Rape Trial Will Be Open to Media

An Ohio judge ruled Wednesday that the trial of two high school football players charged with raping a 16-year-old girl, who was considered too drunk to resist, will be open to the media and the public, a court official said.

Judge Thomas Lipp also postponed the hearing until March 13 and denied a change of venue request, according to Jefferson County Juvenile Court spokesman Fred Abdalla Jr.

Earlier this month, an attorney for Trent Mays -- one of two defendants in the case -- had asked for the change given the case's "publicity and what we perceive as threats to individuals, perhaps witnesses, and also defendants and even defense counsel."

Media attention and an explosion of online postings about the Steubenville case are part of the reason, according to the attorney, Adam Nemann.

Images and social media messages are at the heart of criminal charges against the two boys, which attracted the attention of bloggers and even Anonymous, a loosely organized cooperative of activist hackers.