Ohio Man Holds “I AM A BULLY” Sign As Part Of His Court Punishment

A 62-year-old Ohio man spent several hours on a street corner April 13 holding a sign that said he was a bully. It was a punishment for a disorderly conduct case that the offender Edmond Aviv said was unfair and the judge sentencing him had ruined his life.

Aviv, of South Euclid, said he ignored the honking horns and people who talked to him. He said the judge wasn’t being fair at all.

Aviv’s sentence is the result of a neighborhood dispute where a woman claimed Aviv bullied her and her disabled children repeatedly for years. Aviv was charged with the misdemeanor and pled no contest. Gayle Williams-Byers, the municipal court judge, ordered him to hold the sign for five hours as one part of his sentence.

The judge said the sign should read “I AM A BULLY! I pick on children who 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 went to the corner with the sign around 9 a.m., and just minutes after arriving a passing motorist honked the car horn. Dozens of drivers honked horns at home; some people walking by him yelled at him. Some of them even took pictures.

Aviv has denied he bullied his neighbors but did not want to answer any other questions. Aviv’s lawyer came by to check on him, and a court probation officer was keeping a watch on him.

According to court records, Aviv has fought with neighbor Sandra Prugh for roughly 15 years. In the recent case Aviv was upset by the smell Prugh’s dryer vent emitted while she was doing laundry. Aviv, to retaliate, hooked kerosene to a fan and blew the smell toward her property.

Prugh has two adopted adult children who suffer with epilepsy, cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities. Her son is paralyzed and her husband has dementia.

Prugh said Aviv hurled ethnic slurs at her while she held her adopted black children, threw dog feces regularly on her son’s vehicle windshield, spit on her and even smeared feces on their wheelchair ramp.

Prugh said all she wants is peace, but that she’s concerned for her family’s safety.

The judge ordered Aviv to spend 15 days in jail and to go through an anger management classes and have counseling.

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Posted by News on Apr 14 2014. Filed under New. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.