An Ohio woman has been accused of live-streaming the rape of a 17-year-old friend on the Twitter-owned video app Periscope, according to Franklin County prosecutor Ron O’Brien.
Marina Alexeevna Lonina, 18, is accused of using the app to live-stream video while an acquaintance, Raymond Boyd Gates, 29, allegedly committed the rape at a home in Columbus on February 27, the prosecutor said in a statement.
The two were indicted Wednesday on multiple charges, including kidnapping, rape, sexual battery and pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, the prosecutor said.
In addition, Lonina was indicted on charges of illegal use of a minor in nude-oriented material or performance, the statement said. She also is accused of taking nude photographs of the young woman on February 26, according to the prosecutor.
Attorney Roger Soroka said Lonina will be arraigned Friday.
“She maintains her innocence in the matter,” Soroka said.
Gates does not have a lawyer at this time, O’Brien said.
“The victim and the two defendants were socializing and at some point in the evening it is alleged that Gates forced sexual intercourse with the victim and Lonina started Periscoping (live-streaming in real time) the sexual assault,” the prosecutor’s statement said.
Authorities were contacted after a friend of Lonina’s from out of state watched the live stream, the statement said.
If convicted, Lonina and Gates could each face sentences of more than 40 years, O’Brien said in the statement.
Representatives for Twitter and Periscope declined to comment on the case.
Twitter has had issues with harassment in the past.
In 2014, Twitter said it would revamp its user-protection policies after Zelda Williams, the daughter of comedian Robin Williams, was run off of the social site by abuse in the wake of her father’s suicide.
“We will not tolerate abuse of this nature on Twitter,” Del Harvey, Twitter’s vice president of trust and safety, said in a statement at the time.
Periscope’s guidelines ban graphic content.
