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STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- Two members of the high school football team that is the pride of Steubenville were found guilty Sunday of raping a drunken 16-year-old girl in a case that bitterly divided the Rust Belt city and led to accusations of a cover-up to protect the community's athletes.

Steubenville High School students Trent Mays and Ma'Lik Richmond were sentence to at least a year in juvenile jail, capping a case that came to light via a barrage of morning-after text messages, social media posts and online photos and video. Mays was sentenced to an additional year in jail on a charge of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, to be served after his rape sentence is completed.

The two teens broke down in tears after the verdict was read and later apologized to the victim and to the community. Both were emotional as they spoke, and Richmond struggled at times to talk through his sobs. Richmond's father, Nathaniel, also asked that the victim's family "forgive Malik and Trent for the pain they put you through."

Mays, 17, and Richmond, 16, were charged with digitally penetrating the West Virginia girl, first in the back seat of a moving car after an alcohol-fueled party on Aug. 11, and then in the basement of a house.

The case roiled the community amid allegations that more students should have been charged and led to questions about the influence of the local football team, a source of a pride in a community of 18,000 that suffered massive job losses with the collapse of the steel industry. Their arms linked, protesters who sought guilty verdicts stood outside the courthouse Sunday morning, some wearing masks. The trial opened last week as a contest between prosecutors determined to show the girl was so drunk she couldn't have been a willing participant that night, and defense attorneys soliciting testimony from witnesses that would indicate that the girl, though drunk, knew what she was doing. The teenage girl testified Saturday that she could not recall what happened the night of the attack but remembered waking up naked in a strange house after drinking at a party. The girl said she recalled drinking, leaving the party holding hands with Mays and throwing up later. When she woke up, she said she discovered her phone, earrings, shoes, and underwear were missing, she testified. "It was really scary," she said. "I honestly did not know what to think because I could not remember anything." The girl said she believed she was assaulted when she later read text messages among friends and saw a photo of herself taken that night, along with a video that made fun of her and the alleged attack. She said she suspected she had been drugged because she couldn't explain being as intoxicated as defense witnesses have said she was. "They treated her like a toy," said special prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter. Evidence introduced at the trial included graphic text messages sent by numerous students after the night of the party, including by the accuser, containing provocative descriptions of sex acts and obscene language. Lawyers noted during the trial how texts have seemed to replace talking on the phone for contemporary teens. A computer forensic expert called by the state documented tens of thousands of texts found on 17 phones seized during the investigation. In sentencing the boys, Judge Thomas Lipps urged everyone who had witnessed what happened in the case, including parents, "to have discussions about how you talk to your friends, how you record things on the social media so prevalent today and how you conduct yourself when drinking is put upon you by your friends." The girl herself recalled being in a car later with Mays and Richmond and asking them what happened. "They kept telling me I was a hassle and they took care of me," she testified. "I thought I could trust him (Mays) until I saw the pictures and video." In questioning her account, defense attorneys went after her character and credibility. Two former friends of the girl testified that the accuser had a history of drinking heavily and was known to lie. "The reality is, she drank, she has a reputation for telling lies," said lawyer Walter Madison, representing Richmond. The two girls testified they were angry at the accuser because she was drinking heavily at the party and rolling around on the floor. They said they tried unsuccessfully to get her to stop drinking. Nathaniel Richmond urged during the sentencing that parents speak to their children about "the dangers of alcohol and how it can lead to bad decisions that will affect the rest of your life." He said he himself was an alcoholic. The accuser said that she does not remember being photographed as she was carried by Mays and Ma'Lik Richmond, an image that stirred up outrage, first locally, then globally, as it spread online. Others have testified the photo was a joke and the girl was conscious when it was taken. The photograph led to allegations that three other boys, two of them members of Steubenville High's celebrated Big Red team, saw something happening that night and didn't try to stop it but instead recorded it. The three boys weren't charged, fueling months of online accusations of a cover-up to protect the team, which law enforcement authorities have vehemently denied. Instead, the teens were granted immunity to testify, and their accounts helped incriminate the defendants. They said the girl was so drunk she didn't seem to know what was happening to her and confirmed she was digitally penetrated in a car and later on a basement floor. Ohio's attorney general planned to announce later Sunday whether additional charges will be brought against others in the case. Mays and Richmond were determined to be delinquent, the juvenile equivalent of guilty, Lipps ruled in the juvenile court trial without a jury. The length of their sentence beyond the minimum one year will be determined by juvenile authorities; they can be held until they're 21. Lipps said that "as bad as things have been for all of the children involved in this case, they can all change their lives for the better." The Associated Press normally doesn't identify minors charged in juvenile court, but Mays and Richmond have been widely identified in news coverage, and their names have been used in open court. The AP also does not generally identify people who say they were victims of sex crimes.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A St. Louis County man has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking for forcing two women into prostitution, including a mentally disabled woman.

Federal prosecutors say 26-year-old Carl Mathews of Breckenridge Hills pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court and faces sentencing June 12. His sister, 27-year-old Carla Mathews, also of Breckenridge Hills, is awaiting trial on similar charges.

Mathews forced the women into sex in the St. Louis area from 2010 through October 2012. Authorities say the mentally disabled woman was forced to sleep and use the bathroom in a closet, and was supplied with little food. The woman was also beaten and set on fire.

Police have a suspect in custody after a shooting and chase through North County.

The suspect allegedly shot someone just before 1PM at 314 Hair Gallery on West Florissant. Witnesses told police that suspect ran out of the salon and got into his car. He then led police on a chase that found its way into North St. Louis. That is when the suspect got out of the car and tried to run away, but officers caught him.

No word on the condition of the shooting victim.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. (AP) - A Florida man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a sweepstakes scam that cost an eastern Missouri couple more than $250,000.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced Thursday that Patrick Percival Wilson pleaded guilty to two felony counts of exploitation of the elderly, one count of stealing by deceit and one count of unlawful merchandising practices. The attorney general's office was appointed special prosecutor in the case.

Koster says an elderly couple from Perryville was scammed into believing they won a sweepstakes of $85 million. Wilson and his colleagues convinced the couple to send money to pay taxes and fees for their winnings.

Wilson told authorities that he received at least $67,000 of the money. The rest was sent to Jamaica.

A bank is offering a reward to find the man who robbed them over the weekend.

The Simmons First National Bank in Normandy just off Lucas and Hunt was robbed on Saturday morning. While the robber never showed a weapon, he told tellers he had one. The suspect is described as a black man in his mid to late 30s standing 5'7" to 5'10" tall.

The bank is offering $500 in addition to the $1000 reward offered by CrimeStoppers. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS.

Police have identified the two people killed in Tuesday's shooting in the city's Duchtown neighborhood.

St. Louis police say 37-year-old Terence Anderson had been returning house keys to his ex-girlfriend 32-year-old Nichole Haynes around one o'clock Tuesday afternoon in the 4600 block of Tennessee. Police say the two had just broken off their relationship and allegedly began arguing. By the time police arrived at the home, the woman was dead--shot and killed on her front porch. The man's 15-year-old daughter was shot but is expected to survive.

Anderson fled but Chief Sam Dotson says officers caught up with him and cornered him on a one-way street on the other side of town.

"As he began to back up, the suspect pointed a gun out the rearview, out of the rear window of the vehicle. And at that time, the officers that were following the vehicle exited their vehicle and took offensive positions. And fearing that the individual was about to shoot at them, began firing at that suspect."

Anderson was shot and killed by two officers who have been on the force four years.

UPDATE:

Police say they have shot and killed the suspected shooter. Officer caught up to the suspect in the 4100 block of Turner. During a chase, one officer shot and killed the suspect. EARLIER:
A suspect is on the loose after shooting a woman and her teenage daughter Tuesday afternoon.

The shooting happened around 1 PM at a home in the 4600 block of Tennessee Ave. A mother and here daughter were rushed to the hospital. The mother was pronounced dead, but the daughter is in stable condition and expected to survive.

SWAT teams were called to the home and they surrounded the residence. Police believed the suspect was in the house, but a search revealed he had fled the house.

This is a fluid situation and we will update you as we have more information.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man is in custody in St. Louis, accused of beating his girlfriend to death with a baseball bat.

Police say the crime happened Thursday evening. The 71-year-old suspect's name has not been released.

Police say the man was arguing with his girlfriend, 54-year-old Carolyn Richardson, then struck her in the head several times with the bat. Richardson was pronounced dead at a hospital.

UPDATE:
Joseph Wambach has been charged for exploding a device outside of South County business. Earlier:
An explosion rocked a South County neighborhood this week. St. Louis County police now say they have a suspect in custody.

Police responded to a blast on Tesson Ferry in Sappington Wednesday night after people reported damaged. The suspect allegedly placed the explosive device outside of an Avon store, then walked into a nearby bar.

Police say the man resisted arrest, but was taken into custody. No motive has been announced.

SAVERTON, Mo. (AP) - Juveniles are suspected in a series of fires at a tiny Mississippi River town in northeast Missouri.

Ralls County and state investigators say three fires over the past four months at vacant homes in Saverton were intentionally set by youngsters. The Hannibal Courier-Post reports that the names and ages of the suspects, and the number of them, were not released.

The matter has been turned over to juvenile authorities.

Saverton is an unincorporated town of about 75 residents near Hannibal and about 100 miles north of St. Louis.