From Fox News: A northeast Ohio man accused of making fun of a young girl with cerebral palsy has been sentenced to a month in jail.
Canton Municipal Judge John A. Poulos ordered the maximum sentence for 43-year-old William Bailey, who pleaded no contest Tuesday to reduced misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing.
The (Canton) Repository reports that Bailey was caught on cellphone video at a school bus stop in October making fun of how the 10-year-old disabled girl walks. The video of him seemingly imitating her limp was disseminated online and on local TV news. Bailey denied he was mocking the girl, saying he was reacting to name-calling directed at his 9-year-old son.
The video was shot in October by Hope Holocomb's grandmother at a bus stop, and shows what appears to be both Bailey and his son each walking with a pronounced limp.
Bailey, for his part, declined to talk on camera, but at the time told The New York Daily News that he was injured on the job and was suffering from bruised ribs and twisted back when the video was shot.
His wife told Fox8.com that this is all part of an ongoing dispute and that Hope's family has called her son names. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/28/ohio-dad-gets-jail-for-mocking-girl-with-cerebral-palsy/?test=latestnews
What this guy did was horrible to the little girl, but to call it a crime for mocking someone?
I work with kids who are severely disabled and I also work in a high school. The students I work with are not harassed but let's face it, there probably isn't a kid in high school who hasn't been teased or mocked. Do we send all the kids who tease another kid to jail? And then, do we extend that to adults?
Yes, the guy is an idiot and if he did that to one of my students, I'd be pissed, but I wouldn't call the cops in the hopes of sending the thug to jail.
Where do we draw the line? Will i be sent to jail for calling Harry Reid a coward, being senile or a crybaby? Can I send someone to jail for mocking me? Can I send someone to jail for someone who mocks one of my kids?
I have little sympathy for the thug- he will get this in the end but I don't think it is a crime to mock someone, unless it causes some kind of physical harm, like an assault.
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According to another article, Holocomb's mother said Bailey also made phsical threats against them. Specifically using a chain to wrap around their necks.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a person shouldn't go to jail (nor should law enforcement get involved at all) due to being a jerk by mocking a disabled kid. If he did indeed make physical threats to harm someone however that's another matter.
It doesn't help that apparently the two families have been "feuding" with one another and bad behavior from both parties would be par for the course.