Lawyer: Judge won't split Steubenville teens' rape trial

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The attorney for one of two Ohio high school football players charged with raping a 16-year-old girl last summer says a judge has declined a request to give the defendants separate trials.

Attorney Walter Madison confirmed in an email Tuesday that the visiting judge handling the case in juvenile court in Steubenville had denied the request.

The Ohio Attorney General's Office, which is prosecuting the case, wouldn't comment.

Attorneys for both teenagers have filed motions to delay the trial set for next month. Madison has also sought to move the trial out of town and close it to the public.

The case has gained international attention through the work of bloggers and hacker-activists who allege that other football players should be charged but are being protected by a cover-up.