Michael Nodianos 'is a really good kid from a really good family,' lawyer says

[jsr]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/07/justice/ohio-steubenville-alleged-rape-case/

Teen in Ohio video 'ashamed and embarrassed,' lawyer says
By CNN Staff

Steubenville, Ohio (CNN) -- One of the teens who recorded himself mocking the girl at the center of an Ohio rape case "did a really dumb thing and regrets it" but did not commit any crime, his lawyer said Monday.

The attorney, Dennis McNamara, said there was "no excuse or justification" for the jokes Michael Nodianos made, "and with some sober reflection, he is ashamed and embarrassed to hear them himself."

"Michael is a really good kid from a really good family who did a really dumb thing and regrets it," he said. "Beyond that, he has no involvement in the criminal case or in any of the underlying activity that led to the filing of the criminal charges."

McNamara said his client graduated from Steubenville High in 2012. He had perfect attendance, played on the school's baseball team and won an academic scholarship to Ohio State University.

[HangOnKids]

1. Perfect attendance must count for something here damn it!

[jsr]

2. Yeah, give him one of these:

[Kalidurga]

3. The lawyer is a liar...

If he was a good kid he wouldn't have done what he did. If he came from a good family his mother wouldn't have done what she did.

[leftynyc]

17. I'm not up on all the details

How is his mother involved? And I agree with your premise - none of these cretins are good kids.

[lapislzi]

25. wouldn't have raised a son who lacks any semblance of morality.

You don't learn respect for other human beings in a vacuum, nor its opposite. Shame.

[Kalidurga]

33. The mother went to the family of the girl and told them they shouldn't pursue the case...

She went there under false pretenses as well and did this as a concern troll. She told them a lot of things would come out about their daughter that the charges would be difficult to prove etc... She is a horrible person.

[leftynyc]

45. Yikes

Can charges be brought against her? Intimidating a witness? Good thing it wasn't my mom she visited - mine would have put her head through a wall.

[LiberalFighter]

54. Don't forget the woman is the county prosecutor

and isn't she also connected with the school in some capacity?

She abused her power.

[A Little Weird]

57. I think it's the mom of a different boy who is the prosecutor.

I hadn't heard anything about this boy's parents prior to this thread. But I got so disgusted with the whole thing that I have had to step away from it for awhile.

[Tempest]

58. Not his mother, it was the mother of Keenan.

And she is the prosecutor. But she did attempt to get the parents not to press charges.

[Mimosa]

24. ^AMEN ro that, Kalidurga! ^ n/t

[TeamPooka]

31. and he would have helped the girl as soon as she was in trouble....

but he didn't.

[PoliticAverse]

4. I'm shocked - A lawyer portrayed their client in the best possible light ?! n/t

[lapislzi]

35. He may be doing his job...but

I am entitled not to believe him. The same way I don't believe Congress, or the cops, or the media.

And I can evaluate the character of this young man based on his own admissions. I don't need a lawyer to tell me what to think.

[LAGC]

5. I'm a little ambivalent about this guy being thrown to the wolves...

The ones who actually participated in the alleged rape, of course...

But teenagers say some really dumb things, especially when they are drunk and are only trying to entertain friends. I can't imagine how much of it was really tongue-in-cheek. ("She's dead." ... "They pissed on her." etc.)

He may have honestly not known a sexual violation had occurred, but was just talking smack making fun of her passing out from drinking too much.

I'm sure the truth will come out at trial regardless...

[leftynyc]

18. If he didn't know about the rape

why the reference to the Nirvana song?

[gollygee]

19. Huh?

"You don't sleep through a wang in the butthole." He obviously was aware of her being anally raped.

And "Song of the night is definitely Rape Me by Nirvana."

[lapislzi]

26. No no no no no

Take the time to read through the files on Local Leaks and the Atlantic Wire. Although the young man can hide behind the cloak of plausible deniability, he was involved. He knew what was going on.

Drunkenness is not an excuse, nor is it a mitigating circumstance.

[frylock]

40. "you don't sleep through a wang in the butthole"

how does that jibe with your comment: He may have honestly not known a sexual violation had occurred, but was just talking smack making fun of her passing out from drinking too much.

this mutherfucker knew.

[Raine1967]

41. There is video out there of this kid going on for over 12 minutes

on how Jane doe was dead and raped. Have you by chance seen that video? I have, it was absolutely horrible. It was disgusting -- it advocated violence. He knew -- he said it himself.

That isn't smack talk -- that is a sociopatholgical behavior imo.

He knew something happened. Something horrendous. He needs to come forward and name names -- NOW. For myself, anything less is just an accomplice to crime against a human being.

[lunasun]

50. He knew , and thought it was very funny it seems from the video No hesitation about that

[Texasgal]

56. Witnessing rape

and making fun of it is disgusting and ILLEGAL! A crime was committed and he was part of it by not calling the police or turning these assholes in.

How would you feel if it was your Daughter, Mother, Sister?

Still ambivalent?

It's NOT dumb. It's a fucking CRIME.

[Tempest]

59. He may have raped her as well

Not all the boys involved were charged.

And at the very least he broke the law by not reporting the crime.

[redqueen]

68. [phone]

Interesting that the person who stood up for this piece of shit never returned to answer any of the responses to his sickening post.

[redqueen]

67. Nodianos: "A wang in the butthole and she wasn't moving. There's usually a reaction to that."

You're confident saying you give this subhuman piece of shit the benefit of the doubt, that he really didn't see that happen, and just made it all up?

Even after two human beings informed him about what a massive waste of oxygen he was being, by treating the situation as a big joke?

Yeah, interesting.

[sally5050]

6. More white boys getting let go scot free

for committing heinous criminal acts (he's easily an accessory to rape).
§ 23.01 General Principles
[A] Common law – One is an accomplice in the commission of an offense if he intentionally assists another to engage in the conduct that constitutes the crime. Accomplice activity may include aiding, abetting, encouraging, soliciting, advising, and procuring the commission of the offense.

[1] Types of Assistance – An accomplice is a person who, with the requisite mens rea, assists the primary party in committing an offense. Generally speaking, there are three basic types of assistance:

1.) assistance by physical conduct (e.g., furnishing an instrumentality to commit an offense, "casing" the scene in advance, locking the door to keep an assault victim from escaping, or driving a "getaway" car from the scene of the crime);
2.) assistance by psychological influence (e.g., incitement, solicitation, or encouragement); and
3.) assistance by omission (if there exists a duty to act). A person is not an accomplice simply because he knowingly fails to prevent the commission of an offense, but such failure to act may serve as a critical factor in determining that he assisted by psychological influence.

Color me surprised when he walks away without a scratch.. sickening that women are still victims in a largely white male violent raping society. This boy is neither good nor deserving of a free pass from the justice system but that's exactly what he will get.

go fuck yourself Nodidamus.. up the ass and then send us the video on twitter.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Yeah whatever.

Cause all boys go to parties, get drunk, watch their friends rape girls and joke about it.

Just a right of passage.

[exboyfil]

9. What the heck does his "good family" have to do with it

If he was from the wrong side of the tracks, then he would be judged differently????

[HeiressofBickworth]

10. Silly goose

don't you know that the poor are always judged differently than the rich. It's all about the money, as I've frequently said. As we all know, there are two different scales of justice. The one with the most loot gets the lightest tap of judgment.

[exboyfil]

11. It would have been nice if one of the "journalists"

had asked the question though. I am kind of hoping my daughter may ask those questions someday as a documentary filmmaker.

[Odin2005]

22. It's a small town euphemism for the local privileged families.

Either because they are rich, or because they have a lot of prestige because of family members being on the football team.

I grew up in a little rural town and there were certain families that could get away with ANYTHING.

[MAD Dave]

60. Exactly!

These fucking clowns are part of the controlling families in Steubenville. Every small town had them and most of these families have a history of committing some type of crime (assault, DUI, vandalism) and it being swept under the rug. The men responsible for the sexual assault have been groomed to fit into these roles and did exactly what they were trained to do.

[Quantess]

12. Alcohol leads to poor judgment and stupid decisions, but,

however, alcohol does not cause you think differently than when you are sober.

I fully understand the "instant asshole, just add alcohol" factor...except... people do not stray far from their morals even when drunk. Anger rises to the surface, beople become silly, but alcohol doesn't give you anything that wasn't already there beneath the surface.

He wasn't smoking PCP, was he. I don't buy his excuse.

[exboyfil]

20. It is just plain evil

The more I think about it, the more evil it becomes even in the best light (no involvement). I would hope that a family member of mine, after hearing this story, would say lets call the cops and try to protect this girl. I don't care how drunk or stupid I ever was in my life, I could never imagine joking about this let alone not trying to do something about it while it was happening.

These people are evil.

[reformist2]

13. I don't know about legal punishment, but he deserves to be booted out of college.

[Chiyo-chichi]

29. He is no longer a student at Ohio State,

but the university won't say whether he left of his own volition or was suspended/expelled.

http://www.thelantern.com/campus/ohio-state-distances-itself-from-recent-steubenville-rape-case-controversy-1.2970129#.UOxW9iP42x4

[hobbit709]

14. It's his mouthpiece, he's paid to say nice things about his client.

[Raine1967]

42. Understood.

I am not paid to think that this kid is a menace.

And I DO think that.

[gollygee]

15. "With sober reflection"

Last edited Tue Jan 8, 2013, 10:07 AM - Edit history (1)

means 'When faced with the fact that he might have consequences."

I think he could use some more "sober reflection." In jail, if he's old enough. He might have been an accessory or something, even if he didn't personally rape her. If there is any crime at all involved (and I don't know the legalities), he needs to face some consequences.

[lunatica]

16. Well Hell! Let's plaster a fucking gold star on his forehead

Obviously he's a paragon of virtue.

[Odin2005]

21. That is what the defenders of all privileged rapists say.

[City Lights]

23. Uh, okay, Mr. Lawyer Sir. Whatever you say.

Mr. Lawyer Sir, you're going to need another case of Febreeze to remove the stink from your client. I can still smell the rotting heap of trash from here.

[Jackpine Radical]

27. "a really good kid from a really good family" Customary translation:

"Family has money."

[lapislzi]

28. Ding ding ding we have a winner. n/t

[doc03]

51. Family worked in steel mill not rich n/t

[mike_c]

30. all of that may in fact be true...

...but it doesn't change the circumstance that there are justifiable consequences when we do "really dumb things." Shame and embarrassment are only the beginning, and --I suspect-- only because he got caught.

[appleannie1]

32. You do drunk what you don't have the nerve to do sober. The mindset does not change.

[WinkyDink]

34. Good is as good does. End of story.

[Ikonoklast]

36. I raised three kids by myself to adulthood.

None of them grew up to be a monster.

My family must be waaaaaay better than 'Good'.

[ellie]

37. Good. He should be ashamed and embarrassed.

He needs to grow the fuck up.

[southernyankeebelle]

38. He should be ashamed of himself.

[Butterbean]

39. "The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them." I'll take

that advice instead, thanks.

[Initech]

43. Sorry Mike in the Facebook era there's no such thing as a take back.

We're not looking the other way on this one.

[Raine1967]

44. If he is a good kid, then do the right damn thing:

Come forward and name names of all those involved with the torture and kidnapping of a young woman.

What amazes me at this point, between all the lawyers and Sheriff and Coaches etc is that NO ONE is naming names.

HEre is a clue: Want to redeemed?

DO SOMETHING FOR THE VICTIM, Fess up and start telling people who was involved with EVERYTHING that led up to this post and the culture it was born of.

I get the lawyer is just doing his job, but the lawyer would be doing a bigger favor to his client by not being obstructionist about the entire awful situation.

[Spiffy99]

46. Everyone else?

What about the kids egging him on? The kid taking the video? They are just as guilty!

[smirkymonkey]

47. No, he isn't and neither is his family.

[Evoman]

48. I think being drunk lets "the real you" out. The person inside with barriers drop.

If I was drunk and in his position, I would have started crying and feeling real bad for the girl. I probably would have drunkenly called everyone to see if she was alright. I doubt I would have attacked the perpetrators (I'm a REALLY nice drunk), but I may have.

This fucker is a sociopath. Drunk or sober, he isn't a good fucking kid. You lose the right to that description when you rape someone or make fun of their rape and don't report it.

[LisaLynne]

49. "A really dumb thing"????

That understatement is disgusting. He did an unthinkable, unconscionable thing. He showed the world what he really is.

[historylovr]

52. Wrong. Good kids don't do what he did.

There's a lot of things this guy is, but "good" isn't one of them.

[Catherine Vincent]

53. Unbelievable. Those tweets are shameful.

[AverageJoe90]

64. Indeed they are. In fact, I'd go a bit farther......

Not just shameful, IMO but Inhumane.

[doc03]

55. I don't know if he actually witnessed the rape or is he

just repeating what someone else told him. If he was there being older and a student at Ohio State and he sees 16 year old kids raping the girl he should have known better and stopped them.

[Tempest]

61. He was NOT a student at OSU at the time

And he was there.

The rape occurred in August before classes started.

[radicalliberal]

62. Yeah, he regrets it all right.

He regrets being exposed as a completely despicable jerk. Evil people always regret being publicly exposed.

Hey, maybe he can catch up with his buddy in California!

His attorney is scum, too!

Pity any rape victim who "gets in the way" of a football program.

[DogPawsBiscuitsNGrav]

63. I imagine his attitude more like this

[radicalliberal]

65. He's a good boy! Let's take a look at a picture of one of his old wholesome haunts . . .

[img]?w=595[/ing]

[radicalliberal]

66. Here's an interesting comment provided by one PatronOfTheDay at www.rawstory.com . . .

Oh, come on, folks...I believe he is truly sorry.
He's a truly sorry excuse for a human being.

[Ilsa]

69. He should volunteer for public service

if he is truly ashamed and repentant. He needs to offer up some unpleasant form of penance, even picking up trash, instead of paying some lying douchebag lawyer to take the public heat for him.