Trent Mays, Ma'lik Richmond

Trent Mays, left, and Ma'lik Richmond sit at the defense table before the start of their trial on rape charges in juvenile court in March 2013 in Steubenville. Richmond, released from juvenile detention in January after being found delinquent of rape, has rejoined the Steubenville High School football team.

(Keith Srakocic, Associated Press file photo)

A Steubenville teen convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl at a party in August 2012 has rejoined the high school football team after being released from juvenile detention earlier this year, according to reports.

WTRF Channel 7 says Ma'lik Richmond, now 18, has returned to the roster as a wide receiver for the Big Red football team. Richmond and former football teammate Trent Mays were found delinquent of rape in March 2013 after they were accused of sexually assaulting a West Virginia girl who had passed out after a night of drinking.

Richmond must still register as a Tier 2 sex offender every 180 days for the next 20 years.

Mays, 17 at the time of his conviction, remains in detention. He also was found guilty of taking and sending nude photos of the victim.

Richmond's return to the team again has brought attention to Steubenville, a small town on the Ohio River in southeast Ohio noted for its high-school football obsession. The trial gained worldwide attention thanks to "hacktivists" on social media.

One blogger who brought attention to the case, Alexandra Goddard, said she is disappointed by the news, according to reports.

"I wanted to be shocked, but I think we all knew it was bound to happen," Goddard said in an email to BuzzFeed. "Steubenville City Schools hasn't really done a lot in the past two years to prove to the world that they don't tolerate rape culture and allowing a Tier II registered sex offender on the team pretty much solidifies the assumption that they are concerned about wins rather than the safety of young girls or the destruction of rape culture in their area."

Not everyone is outraged. Amanda Hess of Slate.com says Richmond served his time in juvenile detention and continued efforts to shame him are wrong.

"Steubenville has rightly become a national flashpoint for discussing the American justice system's insufficient response to our country's rape crisis. And there's a lot about the town's own response to the crime — and its high school football culture — that requires further investigation," Hess writes. "But that doesn't mean that everything that happens in Steubenville is backward, or that Richmond should be turned into a mascot for rape culture. In Richmond's case, justice was served. ... And eventually, we need to let the offenders go on with their lives, go to school, and yes, even play football."