Anonymous Action Prompts Rape Website From Steubenville Police In An Attempt To Quell Outrage

After Anonymous outed an alleged rape and subsequent coverup in Steubenville, Ohio, online reaction to the media released by the hacker collective has prompted local police to launch a website to combat “misinformation” circulating the internet amid the controversy.

Anonymous launched the attack against Steubenville’s Big Red football team under the KnightSec collective, hijacking the website of the team to post a warning and subsequently publicizing details of the case via outlets like Twitter and with videos on YouTube and Vimeo.

In response to the widespread outrage over an alleged coverup and Anonymous’ high-profile activity pursuant to the case, police in Steubenville published a site dealing solely with the allegations members of the team drugged and raped the girl. (Viewable here.)

One of the matters addressed on the new Steubenville rape case website concerns shocking videos circulating the web of boys mocking the girl who had been so viciously assaulted , describing the assault to which she had been allegedly subjected and calling the unconscious female a “whore” among other expletives. Police say:

“Nothing in Ohio’s criminal statutes makes it a crime for someone to ridicule a rape victim on a video or otherwise say horrible things about another person. Further, nothing in the law allows someone who says repugnant things on Twitter, Facebook, or other Internet sites to be criminally charged for such statements.”

The site also says:

“Steubenville Police investigators are caring humans who recoil and are repulsed by many of the things they observe during an investigation. Like detectives in every part of America and the world, they are often frustrated when they emotionally want to hold people accountable for certain detestable behavior but realize that there is no statute that allows a criminal charge to be made.”

The widely-followed Twitter account @YourAnonNews has been updating throughout the day as well, as protests continue in Steubenville, telling followers:

Dear OH Atty Gen: If u help #Steubenville Sheriff Fred “the bookie” Abdalla go after #KnightSec , we’ll go after you. <3, The Entire Internet

— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) January 5, 2013