An 18-year-old woman in the US has been accused of filming the sexual assault of a minor girl and uploading it in the social media, prompting a grand jury to indict her and her boy friend on several charges including rape.

The woman, Marina Lonina from Ohio is charged with streaming the rape of the 17-year-old girl via Twitter's live video app Periscope, US media reported.

The case came to light when authorities were contacted after an out-of-state friend of the woman saw the images, Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said. Marina Lonina and co-defendant Raymond Gates, 29, have been both charged with rape, kidnapping, sexual battery and pandering sexually-oriented matter involving a minor, NBC News reported. O'


Brien said Lonina and the victim, who were friends, were socialising with Gates at a home when Gates raped the girl. Lonina used the Periscope app to livestream the assault, said to have occured on February 27 in the city of Colombus. Periscope is an app for smartphones which uses a video function to allow users to stream events live. Meanwhile, Lonina's lawyer said that she "categorically" denies the charges. The duo each face up to 40 years in prison, if convicted.