A minor can't testify in court anyway, can he? Which would mean the girl-friend's testimony would be worthless as well. (Which is probably is anyway.) I think you have to be 18 or older to take an oath—and to be prosecuted for lying if they catch you in a lie.
I'd say publicizing the name is an effort to punish a witness—for heresy. Just like Spike Lee publicizing the old couple's address when he thought it was Zimmerman's.