Several witnesses took the stand in Day 1 of a teen rape case that has captured the attention of the nation.

The two teen defendants are charged with raping a 16-year-old girl on Aug. 11, 2012. One of the teens is also charged with transmitting sexually oriented pictures of a minor.

Both defendants are student-athletes at Steubenville High School and both have pleaded not guilty.
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WTOV9.com will provide live coverage of the Steubenville teen rape trial from the courtroom. NOTE: Some witnesses may opt out of being recorded. In those cases, their testimony will not be livestreamed. We will have live updates each hour during the trial.
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As of Wednesday afternoon, all of the witnesses had chosen not to be recorded, and all have been teens who attended at least one of  three parties in question.  

At least one of the witnesses became emotional while on the stand, something that the prosecutor prepared the court for during her opening arguments.

The charges stem from a police report that was filed in Steubenville at 1:40 a.m. Aug. 14. The report states that people came to the police station "in regards to a sexual assault involving their juvenile daughter." Information was taken for a report and the subjects were referred to the Juvenile Division, the police report stated.

Attorney Michael Nogay, who is a legal analyst for NEWS9 on the case, said prosecutors are trying to establish if the alleged victim was substantially impaired and if she was too intoxicated to give consent.

For the first time in court, state prosecutors spoke about DNA evidence on Wednesday. The evidence was retrieved from a blanket that links one of the defendants to the alleged crime.

Before the trial started, visiting Judge Thomas Lipps addressed the courtroom and said both defendants' attorneys had withdrawn their motions to dismiss the case.

The motions were withdrawn based on a West Virginia judge’s Tuesday night decision to compel teen witnesses to testify at the trial. West Virginia Judge Ronald Wilson ruled that two teen witnesses would be compelled to testify. The third witness, who is the alleged victim, had volunteered to testify in the trial.

The first witness was with the accuser before they went to the first party. Prosecutors asked the witness if she tried to stop the accuser from leaving with the suspects, and the witness said yes, she did try to get her not to leave.

When asked if the witness had seen the alleged victim drink alcohol before, the witness said yes, but not to that extent.

The defense said the witness left the victim and went to her own home, then defense attorneys worked to cast doubt on if the witness actually saw events take place or if she was upset about what she has heard or seen on social media sites.

The following morning after the alleged rape, the witness drove her car, saw she missed a call, went to the site of one of the parties and picked up the two defendants and the accuser. She said the alleged victim laid down in the back seat and burst into tears at that point.

 
The second witness claimed to have been present at the time a photo was taken of the alleged victim. The second witness testified that she didn't personally know the girl so she didn't know the girl's intentions. The second witness said that the alleged victim told her, "I'm going with (defendant)."

The prosecution's third witness was a 19-year-old who lives at a second home that is the subject of the case. The witness said he was not in a basement room when a group of partiers came in. He said he saw them there and was told by one of the defendants that the alleged victim was feeling ill and needed to vomit. He said one of the defendants took her to a bathroom.

The second house is where prosecutors said a photo was taken of the alleged victim being held by her arms and feet. The witness was not present when the photo was taken and was not aware of the circumstances surrounding it.

The third witness testified that he had not planned a party. He said he told a few friends to come to his house and several others, including the two defendants, showed up at his house. The third witness testified that he told people there who were not his good friends to leave.

The house was also the scene where a video was recorded of a teen joking about the alleged crime. The witness said he was not present when the bulk of the video was made. The third witness further testified that he could hear one of the defendants ask if he should urinate on the alleged victim.

A defense attorney asked the witness about the impact of being implicated in this case. The witness said the evening of the alleged crime was not particularly noteworthy for him and said the photo was not a big deal to him.

The non-jury trial is being held in Jefferson County Juvenile Court. The trial is expected to continue through Thursday and Friday, starting at 9 a.m. both days. It is possible that testimony could be heard on Saturday.

Lipps, a retired judge from Hamilton County, is presiding over the trial. Jefferson County Judge Samuel Kerr recused himself in late August. The Ohio Attorney General's office took over prosecuting the case in late August after Jefferson County Prosecutor Jane Hanlin also stepped aside.

Stay with NEWS9 and WTOV9.com for continuing coverage.