Trent Mays, Convicted Rapist, Will Play For Hocking College’s Newly Formed Football Team

Trent Mays was convicted for taking part in a 2012 rape when he was 17-years-old. The Steubenville High School football star was joined by fellow teammate Ma’Lik Richmond in that conviction.

Their victim, a 16-year-old girl, was unconscious at the time, and according to the Columbus Dispatch, Mays used his phone to photograph the nude victim.

After serving two years in a juvenile correctional facility, he is now free with the classification of a Tier II sex offender, which means he is required to report to a local sheriff every six months for the next 20 years.

The stipulations of his release do not prevent him from leading a normal life in the meantime, and Ohio’s Hocking College is welcoming him with open arms to their newly formed football team.

President Betty Young explained the college’s decision to let Trent Mays play in an email announcement received by the press.

The Athens News has more.

“In an email Friday morning to the ‘campus community,’ Hocking President Betty Young wrote:… ‘Many of you may have heard this rumor on campus or in the community, and this message is intended to clarify the facts…. After his release from juvenile detention, Trenton transferred to Indian Creek High School and graduated with honors in 2015; he has the opportunity to attend any open enrollment college in Ohio. Hocking College policy does not permit him to live on campus.'”

Young also noted that Trent Mays had done “everything required of him” by the juvenile judicial system.

While Young did admit that Mays would receive no special treatment and would be subject to the same rules and standards of other Hocking College students, she seemed more than willing to give him a second chance.

“Everyone deserves a second chance. Second chances do not excuse or defend previous behavior. There are a lot of ‘second chance’ stories at every community college, Trenton’s story is just one more. His path will be challenging, but many of our students face challenges, and they overcome them to reach success. It is up to him to determine what to do with this opportunity.”

Adam Nemann, Mays’ attorney, told the Dispatch that his client is “eager to prove himself,” though the pair were not available for comment on his playing for the Hocking College football team.

The new semester begins August 24. What do you think, readers? Should Trent Mays be allowed to play football given his history? Sound off in the comments section.

[Image of Trent Mays via Columbus Dispatch, linked above]