Steubenville Superintendent, Three Others Indicted for Their Role in Rape Case

On Monday, the special grand jury investigating the rape of Steubenville's Jane Doe indicted Michael McVey, the Steubenville school superintendent, on felony charges, including obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence.

On Monday, the special grand jury investigating the rape of Steubenville's Jane Doe indicted Michael McVey, the Steubenville school superintendent, on felony charges, including obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence. Matthew Belardine, an assistant football coach at the time for the school was also charged, as was a wrestling coach named Seth Fluharty and a woman named Lynnette Gorman, a principal at a different school. The new indictments were announced by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine this morning.

McVey is the current superintendent of the school district and faces three felony charges— one count of tampering with evidence, and two counts of obstructing justice. He also faces two other misdemeanor charges: making a false statement and obstructing official business.

 On January 11, McVey said he was fully cooperating with the investigation "and will continue to fully cooperate with all legal authorities," he told the Herald Star. "Since we first heard allegations of a sexual assault involving some of our students, we began immediate dialog with the law enforcement authorities," McVey said. Handing out punishments for the boys involved with Jane Doe's rape was part of McVey's responsibilities at the school. 

Belardine was an assistant football coach during the time of Jane Doe's rape. According to a pre-trial hearing in the case, the party where Doe became inebriated happened at Belardine's house:

Belardine faces charges for allowing underage drinking, obstructing official business, falsification and contributing to the delinquency of a child. 

Gorman, according to the Herald Star, has been involved in Steubenville fundraising events. She faces a charge of failing to report child abuse. Fluharty faces the same charge.

DeWine said that barring new evidence the grand jury was finished with their part of the investigation, meaning it's unlikely that anyone else will be charged. He said 123 different people were interviewed. 

We'll be adding to this report when more information is available.