High School Student Live-Streamed Teenage Friend Being Raped on Periscope, Pleads Not Guilty

Marina Lonina, a high school student, watched her friend get raped and not only did she do nothing to stop it, she actually live streamed it on the Periscope app for all the world to see.

“You don’t want to lose track of the fact that she’s a high school student and she and her friend were clearly taken advantage of,” Lonina’s attorney Sam Shamansky argued in court. “She was swept up by the gravity of the situation and as she immediately told the police, she was filming in order to preserve, not to embarrass or to shame or to titillate anybody.”

The 18-year-old high school student faces a series of charges as severe as those facing the man accused of attacking her, Raymond Gates.

The alleged attack happened in Ohio in February and both have pleaded not guilty. Both have been charged with kidnapping, rape, sexual battery and pandering sexual matter involving a minor.

According to police, Lonina and her 17-year-old friend were at a shopping mall in Columbus on Feb. 26 when they met Raymond, who allegedly bought them a bottle of vodka and said they should party at his house. The girls went over there the next day and were drinking with him when he pinned down Marina’s friend and raped her for 10 long minutes.

Instead of calling the police or jumping in to stop the assault, Lonina took out her smart phone and began live streaming the horrific act via her Periscope account.

Woman charged with live-streaming teen’s rape on Periscope:

 Marina Lonina was indicted on accusations ... https://t.co/urLbRwUdzz

— Andre Mostert (@Playamos) April 14, 2016

“I have never seen a case such as this where you would actually live-stream a sexual assault,” Ron O’Brien, the Franklin County prosecutor, said in remarks to the local news media. Luckily, one of Lonina's Periscope follower in another state saw the attack take place and called the cops.

"People need to know and understand that the use of a smartphone to video events can constitute serious felony crimes," O'Brien told the Associated Press. "They should think twice before they use their smartphones to either photograph or video anything that's of a sexual nature."

If convicted, Lonina and Gates each face up to 40 years in prison.

Marina Lonina Pleads Not Guilty https://t.co/HkGCQqzsL2 via @nytvideo — Beatz 96.3 (@Beatz963) April 19, 2016