Judge: Steubenville high school football player must register as sex offender for 20 years

8/16/2013

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — An Ohio high school football player convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl will have to register as a sex offender every six months for the next 20 years.

Jefferson County Judge Thomas Lipps today classified 17-year-old Ma’Lik Richmond as a Tier II sex offender.

Unlike adult sex offenders, however, Richmond’s name won’t be included on publicly accessible websites. And he can request to have the sex offender classification removed later based on his history of rehabilitation.

Richmond’s attorney declined to comment on the judge’s decision.

Lipps found Richmond and a co-defendant guilty of raping the West Virginia girl after an alcohol-fueled party in Steubenville in eastern Ohio in August 2012. Richmond is serving at least a year in the Ohio juvenile detention system.