The Steubenville, Ohio, rape case has made national headlines because it represents a perfect storm of inappropriate sexual conduct, high-school football heroes, social media and viral YouTube videos.
The case reached some level of closure on Sunday as Judge Thomas Lipps handed down the juvenile equivalent of a guilty verdict and sentenced the two defendants to what could be years in a juvenile correctional facility as a consequence of their actions on August 11 and 12 of last year.
Two teens found guilty in Steubenville rape case
This verdict is a consequence not only of the defendants' actions that night, but also of decades of change in how society views sexual conduct -- and how the law has evolved in response to this change. In this case, a high school girl went to a party and allegedly drank so much that she began slurring her words and was occasionally unresponsive. Two football stars at the party are accused of taking advantage of her impaired state and engaging in sexual conduct with her.
A few decades ago, this behavior would probably have been considered inappropriate or 'ungentlemanly.' Today, it brings protesters into the streets and creates a nationwide outcry about sexual abuse.
The law has evolved as societal norms have changed. Lots of sexual conduct occurs when one or both participants are intoxicated to some extent. The question that the law needs to answer -- but at times struggles to answer -- is at what p.