Defendant claims she live-streamed rape to record evidence of assault

The attorney of an Ohio woman accused of live-streaming the rape of her 17-year-old friend claims she Periscoped the assault to gather evidence of a crime.

Lonina and Gates. (credit: Franklin County Sheriff)

The defendant, 18-year-old Marina Lonina, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that include rape, kidnapping, and pandering. Her lawyer, Sam Shamansky, said his client broadcast the February rape in Columbus, Ohio to help convict the alleged rapist, 29-year-old Raymond Gates, according to CBS.

"She does everything possible to contain the situation even to the point of asking while it's being filmed to these Periscope followers, 'What should I do now? What should I do now?'" Shamansky said of Lonina, whose bond was set at $125,000 following her arrest last week. He said his client and the unidentified victim, who attend the same high school, were "preyed upon by this pervert. That's all I can say." (The classmates are naturalized US citizens from Russia, and Lonina's live-streamed comments were in Russian.)

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