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BLUEFIELD The shame and stigma associated with sexual assault can make it difficult for victims to come forward. Now, the ease and speed of gossiping via social networking is making it even harder.

Sgt. M.D. Clemons, with the West Virginia State Police Crimes Against Children Unit, said many teen victims are scared to speak up. They are scared of the stigma, the shame. Even though its 2013, the victim gets blamed all over again, which is what we work to try to prevent.

In the high-profile Steubenville, Ohio, rape case, in which two teen boys were found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl, the victim received threats on social networking sites after the conviction. A 16-year-old girl has now been charged with aggravated menacing after using Twitter to make a death threat against the victim, while a 15-year-old who posted a threat on Facebook has been charged with one count of menacing.

Although these threats occurred after the conviction, Clemons said social media discussions about sexual assault cases and victims begin as soon as people in a community realize an investigation is underway.

Anybody that has access to any social media account can comment, Clemons said. Strangers who dont know anyone involved will comment.

The shame of it is, parents are doing it, too. You can tell by the posts, she added.

Clemons said teens are aware of this, and it makes it hard for victims to come forward knowing youre going to go through this, knowing these days nothing is kept secret, no matter how hard you try to keep it private. These things used to be talked about around a watercolor, now it spreads like wildfire on the Internet. Its instant.

Those who have never been a sexual assault victim or worked with victims dont understand the dynamics of such cases, or the shame and fear felt by victims, Clemons said.

Its not like you tell your story once and its over, she said. Youre going to relive it especially if its high profile over and over again.

In the Steubenville case, the victim was called derogatory names on social networking sites, something Clemons has seen happen to local victims. They are not only victimized by the perpetrators, theyre victimized by society.

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Online gossip: Social networking can become a nightmare for victims