March 18, 2013

As if this girl hasn't been through enough, Fox News on Monday aired the name of the underage victim of the disturbing rape in Steubenville, Ohio.

During correspondent Mike Tobin's report about the guilty verdicts in the Steubenville rape case on Fox News' America's Newsroom, the girl's first name was broadcast without being censored.

"We have not known, really, how the victim is doing, Mike," host Martha MacCallum told Tobin. "Is there any information on that today?"

"Well, a relative tells me that she spends a lot of time in her room," Tobin explained. "She has been back out playing sports, and through it all -- you'll be surprised to learn -- she made the honor roll one more time."

"A family representative says the remorse coming from the football players came too late," the correspondent added. "We saw their reaction yesterday."

At that point, the report cut to footage of one of the rapists, 17-year-old Trent Mays, apologizing to the victim in court on Sunday.

"I would truly like to apologize to [redacted], her family, my family and the community," Mays said. "No picture [of the rape] should have been sent around, let alone even taken."

Crooks and Liars has redacted the victim's first name from this report and the video above, but Fox News did not.

A Fox News editor's note added to an Associated Press report published on Sunday insisted that the conservative network would not name the minors charged in the case.

"Editors’ Note: The Associated Press named the minors charged due to the fact they have been identified in other news coverage and their names were used in open court," the note said. "FoxNews.com will not name the defendants."

The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence encourages news organizations "not to publish the names of minors who come forward with allegations of sexual abuse or rape and to avoid reporting stories in such a way that these minors are identifiable."

The alliance recommended that news organizations "report these stories with sensitivity toward the stigma associated with being publicly named."

On Sunday, CNN host Candy Crowley and reporter Poppy Harlow came under fire after expressing sympathy for the rapists and making little mention of the rape victim.

During Monday news reports, however, CNN censored the victim's name while airing the same clip of Mays apologizing that Fox News had broadcast undited.

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