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Attorney plans statement

STEUBENVILLE – A Columbus attorney who said he is representing the individual in a video that went viral last week will issue a public statement this afternoon.

Dennis McNamara said this morning he will address local reporters at a yet-to-be-determined location in Steubenville.

“The video was originally posted on YouTube in August by another individual who then deleted it from YouTube. The video was obtained by someone else last week and surfaced on the Internet, and the family of Michael Nodianos has been hammered ever since,” said McNamara.

“I will be addressing the video in a public statement today,” said McNamara.

The video that primarily shows Nodianos making comments about an alleged rape of a 16-year-old Weirton female by two Steubenville High School students was made shortly after the alleged rape incident.

The video that appeared on the Internet last Thursday was cited during the Saturday protest organized by the group called Anonymous in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse.

An audio part of the tape was played during the protest along with calls from the crowd for the arrest of Nodianos. But local law enforcement officials have said the tape is not illegal and Nodianos did not commit a crime in the video.

“The Steubenville police have had that video and passed it on to the Ohio attorney general’s office early on in the investigation. That specific video is disgusting and nauseating. But you can’t arrest that person for being stupid,” stressed Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla during a Friday evening press conference.

“We obtained the video that has recently been on the Internet very early in our investigation. We reviewed all of the evidence and forwarded everything to the special prosecutors assigned by the Ohio Attorney General. They are in charge of deciding what charges have been and may be filed,” said Steubenville Police Chief Bill McCafferty during a Saturday morning press conference called by city officials.

“We have had several citizens file complaints with our department indicating they are subject to harassment. Several innocent people have been mentioned on the Internet, who have nothing to do with the case. From day one I have asked people to come forward with information about the alleged attack,” said McCafferty.

“Unfortunately things are being said on the Internet that aren’t true. There are a lot of accusations out there. But we have to have evidence to take a case to court,” cited McCafferty.

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