Ma'Lik Richmond, one of the two Steubenville students convicted of raping a 16-year old girl, was released from juvenile detention after serving 9 months of his one-year sentence.

His attorney, Walter Madison, issued a statement saying the youth is "braced for the balance of his life" and that he and his family are requesting privacy.

"While away, Ma'Lik has reflected, learned, matured, and grown in many ways," he said in the statement. "He is a better, stronger person and looks forward to school, life, and spending time with family."

Richmond was sentenced to one year in March 2013. A judge convicted him and fellow Steubenville High School student athlete Trent Mays of raping the West Virginia girl in August 2012. Mays also was convicted of using his phone to take a naked picture of the underage girl. He was sentenced to two years.

Asked for comment, the attorney for the girl, Bob Fitzsimmons, said in a statement today it was "disheartening" that there was no mention of her or her family in the statement made on Richmond's behalf.

"One would expect to see the defendant publicly apologize for all the pain he caused rather than make statements about himself," Fitzsimmons said. "Rape is about victims, not defendants."

I don't know what "braced for the balance of his life" means, but I hope it involves automatic monthly donations to rape crisis centers.