Earlier this month, a 14-person grand jury indicted William Rhinaman, the director of technology at Steubenville High School for tampering with evidence and perjury, among other things related to the Steubenville rape case last year. According to an e-mail by Steubenville High's Staff, "they shouldn't sit back anymore while our community is being attacked."

The e-mail was picked up by a staffer and sent to novelist James Renner. It was message was between a guidance counselor and a coach, and shared to the entire staff, concerning sending a show of support to William Rhinaman. Rhinaman, 53, was indicted on charges of tampering with evidence, obstructing justice, obstructing official business, and perjury — part of an ongoing investigation in the rape of a teen girl. Rhinaman pled not guilty on Wednesday, and could face up to four years in jail.

In the email, the two discuss ways to send cards or support to the incarcerated Rhinaman and how Mark Masloski, a coach at Steubenville, feels like this grand jury is "attacking" the Big Red community:

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Despite the possibility that their colleague and friend may have committed a crime in regards to the rape of an underage girl, Masloski seems pretty adamant that Rhinaman didn't deserve to be held in jail without bond and seems convinced that the grand jury investigation is an outright attack on the Steubenville High athletic community. And it's possibly indicative that there are people who still believe that this investigation is personal, despite assurances from Attorney General Mike DeWine that it's not. "What I hope people will believe when we're done is that we did everything we could to find the truth and that justice was done. What you're seeing today is just part of that effort," DeWine said in April, when the grand jury was first announced.

Rhinaman will appear in court on December 6. His daughter, Hannah, was indicted by the same grand jury for charges of theft, but the jury said the case was unrelated.

Story continues

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We sent an e-mail to Daugherty to verify the e-mail and asked for a comment but it was not returned.

This article was originally published at http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/10/steubenville-staffers-email-chain-want-support-it-director-indicted-cover-/70958/

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