Updates on Steubenville Rape Case and Video

NOTE:  My Saturday updates here. 

See my major new piece at The Nation today.

Friday Update #7  A much fuller report on the sheriff's press conference tonight (see below).  Besides going off on various subjects, he claimes to know who hacked sites and retrieved evidence (and even knows the person's family members).  But @KYanonymous responds: "Sheriff if you know me why am I still tweeting? Have your deputies confiscate my laptop maybe they will delete my twitter lol."

Sheriff Abdalla also claimed, against other reputed evidence, that the young man featured in that viral video offering graphic testimony about the sexual assaults wasn't even at the scene of the incidents, and was just acting "stupid."  

Update #6  The local sheriff (Jefferson County) issued a stern warning tonight to Anonymous and OccupySteubenville folks who are planning a big demo tomorrow in town, and refuted the charges of corruption: "Now listen Anonymous, whoever is out there. You can say whatever you want to say about me,  but when you start attacking children and putting their names out where everyone can see and putting out their addresses,  then I'm coming after you," Sheriff Fred Abdalla said.

Update #5  Traci Lords, the former porn actress who long ago went legit as actress/writer/director, tweeted tonight that she had been raised in Steubenville and raped there--and left before she got to the "Big Red" high school.  (Her bio says rape occurred at age 10.)  Roseanne Barr then tweeted that she had invited her on her Sunday show. Full tweet @thetracilords: "I was born in Steubenville. Raped in Steubenville. And left just before I was to attend Big Red High. #escaped ."

Update #4  The coach of the high school team embroiled in this case released a statement tonight--slamming CNN for its coverage and singling out Anderson Cooper for offering to do taped interview with him when he demanded live time.  Cooper's show tonight said the coach's demands for live interview were out of bounds and that's why change was made, but renewed offer to do some kind of live interview. 

Update #3  Anonymous group plans another rally on courthouse steps in Steubenville tomorrow.  They had one last week that drew 300 to 400.  There's also a counter-protest from those claiming locals are getting unfairly tarred.

Update #2  Attorney for one of the defendants claims in TV interview that the viral publication of the latest (hacked) material means his client's right to a fair trial has been "hijacked."

Update #1 Anonymous hackers at their LocalLeaks site have just posted their promised tick-tock on the night of the assault, based on what they say they've learned.  It's still somewhat sketchy and not a full report.  They charge that the victim was dosed with a "date rape" drug but this is unproven.  They name names and, of course, these are only allegations and some may be smeared falsely.  But here you go.  The Atlantic wisely comments,  "Since the Times report last month, the reporting on this story has been driven by a kind of hacker vigilantism more than professional journalists. These new details may be unconfirmed, but they are the leads that the mainstream outlets who are headed for Ohio will be following."