A woman used a social media app to live stream the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl, an Ohio prosecutor said Wednesday as a grand jury indicted the woman and a co-defendant on several charges including rape and kidnapping.
The case came to light when authorities were contacted after an out-of-state friend of the woman saw the images, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said. Marina Lonina, 18, and co-defendant Raymond Gates, 29, were charged with rape, kidnapping, sexual battery and pandering sexually-oriented matter involving a minor. The rape charge involved intercourse by force and was not related to the 17-year-old’s age, O’Brien said.
Lonina was also charged with illegal use of a minor in a nudity-oriented material or performance, related to the alleged use of the social media live streaming app Periscope.
Periscope, an app for smartphones, uses a video function to allow users to stream events live. O’Brien said Lonina and the victim, who were friends, were socializing with Gates at a home in Columbus on February 27 when Gates raped the 17-year-old girl.
Lonina used the Periscope app to live stream the assault, O’Brien said. She had also taken a picture of the victim in the nude the night before at her home, O’Brien said. Lonina ‘categorically denies these charges,’ said her attorney Josh Bedtelyon. O’Brien said the motive for the live streaming was unclear, but he said alcohol was a factor. Gates, Lonina and the victim had all been drinking, he said.