I could name a dozen examples in history of individuals documenting atrocities and publishing it. "Hey, here's our crime and faces, arrest us, please!!!"
I think it was partly high-profile because a lot of rape victims never get justice done. A lot of rape-kits get untested for decades and then reported in the news as a "Oh fuck shit, we forgot to get around to them!"
Not sure where the case was held, but the fact that they were football players probably reduced their sentence.