Grown Man Who Picked On Disabled Kids Ordered To Hold ‘I Am A Bully’ Sign As Public Shaming

I have to say, as a former Ohioan, I was a little disappointed with Ohio this week. Thankfully a South Euclid judge has redeemed the buckeye state for me by ordering a guy convicted of harassing his neighbor and her disabled kids to publicly hold a sign saying “I Am A Bully!” Usually these public shaming tactics aren’t my cup of tea, but unlike similar stories, the person being shamed isn’t a teenager or a little kid, but a fully grown, 62-year-old man.

Municipal Court Judge Gayle Williams-Byers ordered Edmund Aviv to hold a sign for five hours this weekend 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.”

This all began because of a long standing feud between Aviv and his neighbor, Sandra Prugh. According to Scott Prugh, Sandra’s son, the trouble began when he and his parents moved into their home 15 years ago. Not long after that the Prughs adopted two Black children who have developmental disabilities. According to court records, Aviv has been waging a war on Prugh and her family ever since. This allegedly includes using racial slurs against her adopted kids, spitting on Prugh several times and regularly throwing dog feces on both Scott’s car and the family wheelchair ramp. He sure sounds like a class act to me!

Most recently Aviv was annoyed at a smell coming from Prugh’s dryer vent, so according to court records he did the reasonable thing and hooked up kerosene to his own dryer, which he then used to blow fumes onto Prugh’s property. Oh, did I say reasonable? I mean batshit insane.

Obviously Aviv didn’t get away with a simple public shaming, as awesome as that punishment is. He was also ordered to serve 15 days in jail and undergo anger management counseling. In addition to the shame-fest, jail and counseling, Aviv was also forced to submit a letter of apology to the Prugh family, which I’m sure is super sincere. The letter reads:

“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.”

Well, hopefully a couple weeks of jail time and five hours of well-deserved public shaming will help him to think a little harder next time.

(Photo: YouTube)