Ohio Judge Orders Man To Wear ‘I Am A Bully’ As Part Of Sentencing [Video]


Using humiliation as a strong deterrent to the crime, a judge in Ohio has mandated a person to wear a sign in public.

An Ohio judge has ordered a man convicted of harassing a neighbor and her disabled children to stand on a street corner with a sign that says “I AM A BULLY!” The perpetrator must wear the sign for 5 hours on Sunday and stand where the public will be able to see him.

South Euclid Municipal Court Judge Gayle Williams-Byers ordered Edmond Aviv, 62, to stand at the corner of Trebisky Road and Monticello Boulevard with a sign that reads:

“I AM A BULLY! I pick on children that are disabled, and I am intolerant of those that are different from myself. My actions do not reflect an appreciation for the diverse South Euclid community that I live in.”

Aviv must stand at the intersection between 9 am and 2 pm on Sunday with the sign. Additionally, Williams-Byers has further mandated that the sign’s letters must be large enough for a normal person to see the sign from 25 feet away. As the judge doesn’t trust the orders to be complied with correctly, the sign must be designed and painted / printed and also approved by the city’s probation department by this Friday.

The crime? Court records show Aviv regularly feuded with his neighbors, the Prugh family, for the past 15 years. Prugh said Aviv once set up a dryer in his garage so that he could pour kerosene into it and the fumes would make their home smell of gas. However, he clearly crossed the line when he smeared feces on the family’s wheelchair ramp and in one of the cars.

When arrested and produced in front of the judge, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. The victim, Scott Prugh, said it started when his parents adopted two black children with developmental disabilities, reported FOX8.com.

Apart from wearing a humiliating sign in public for 5 hours, Aviv must also serve a 15 day jail sentence and 100 hours community service. He is on 7 months’ probation, must attend anger management classes and personal counseling at the Diversity Center of Cleveland. If that’s not all Aviv was even ordered to write a apology letter in which he said, “I want to express my sincere apology for acting irrationally towards your house and the safety of your children. I understand my actions could have caused harm but at that time I was not really thinking about it,” reported Cleveland.com.

As far a unique justices go, this has to be one of the strongest. It is hoped that public humiliation could ensure that such crimes aren’t repeated, even by others.

[Image Credit | WKYC]

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