Ohio Man Allegedly Bullies Girl With Cerebral Palsy

Pike Township, OH – A Canton area man was caught on video repeatedly mocking the way a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy walks. The father-of-five, William Bailey, imitated the way little Hope Holcomb walked with an exaggerated limp when she was walking away from the school bus. Bailey was accompanied by his son Joseph, 9, when the video making fun of the girl with a physical disability was taken.

Tricia Knight, Hope’s mother, said the taunting behavior started last year when the two children had trouble on the bus. Hope reportedly cried every morning because Joseph allegedly treats her badly, Radar Online notes.

The little girl’s father, Mike Knight, had this to say about the continued trouble between the two families:

“We just want the bullying and the ridiculous behavior from the kids and the adults to stop.”

According to the Canton Rep website, Bailey stated he only resorted to humiliating the girl with cerebral palsy because of an ongoing family feud. He further claimed the mocking of the exaggerated limp was initiated as a direct response to the Knight family making fun of his son Joseph, who reportedly suffers from ADHD and seizures.

Bailey had this to say during the interview:

“I told me son, ‘If they want to call us retard, we’ll show them a retard.’ And we walked to the car from the bus like that. I did that with my son. I never meant that or anything at all toward little Hope. I don’t make fun of anybody with a disability. I wasn’t making fun of anyone. They kept calling my little boy names and I reacted badly. You have to defend your son, your children.”

Local police officers noted that multiple incidents of loud music, name-calling, and other issues have been reported between the two families but no charges have been filed by either party.