Teen Sentenced In Noose Attack
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Teen Sentenced
A local teen is sentenced to ten days in jail for his role in a case of ethnic intimidation.
A Mount Vernon teenager was sentenced Wednesday to ten days in jail for his role in a case of ethnic intimidation.
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio—A Mount Vernon teenager was sentenced Wednesday to ten days in jail for his role in a case of ethnic intimidation.
Dale Cline, 18, pleaded no contest to a fifth-degree felony of ethnic intimidation, stemming from an incident in May 2008.
An aggravated menacing charge was dropped as part of the agreement.
Robert Cantu, 17, said Cline yelled racial slurs, grabbed him, pushed him down and put a noose around his neck.
Cantu said he was the dragged three to four feet from a sidewalk to a parking lot on South Main Street. Robert’s mother, Marcie Cantu, said Cline also told her son he was going to be hanged in a park.
In addition to his ten-day sentence, Cline will also pay a $100 fine and court costs.
Robert said he doesn’t think the sentence is right, adding, “I don’t think 10 days is enough. Our attorney said 30 days and that’s what we were hoping for.“ He says he would have preferred a two- to six-month sentence.
“That did not send a strong message out to our community and as far as feeling justice had served us or made things right, no. That young man is going to do it again or get into more trouble,“ Marcie Cantu said.
Assistant Prosecutor Chip McConville said it sends a message that if this kind of behavior happens, it will be prosecuted.
Judge James Ronk said in court that what the defendant did was shameful to him and the community.
He told Cline he should treat people the way he wants to be treated.
Ronk wouldn’t comment on the sentence, but Robert said he thinks the message is clear.
“That Knox County or Mount Vernon doesn’t care about other ethnic groups in this neighborhood,“ he said.
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Reader Reactions
The Mt. Vernon court system is a joke and completely backwards. A friend of mine was sentenced to 45 days for petty theft. First offense, no proof, under $50 - and obviously, he did not do it. 45 DAYS! This guy should have gotten (at the very least) 6 months in jail for doing such a horrible thing! He was old enough to know what he was doing. Maybe he would have gotten that much time if he killed the victim. Is that how far these things need to go? Absolutely ridiculous! I would move away from there too if I were them!
IGNORANCE & HATE
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Landru 19 June 2009 Fri. 13:11
Just for the record, I’d like to know what kind of provocation justifies putting a noose around someone’s neck.
Just for the record, I’d like to know what kind of provocation justifies putting a noose around someone’s neck.
yea, well i see nothing has changed since i moved from that area back in “93”......same ol’ same ol’......this is why the victims never come forward…..they know there will be no justice and then have to live through the ridicule from the community. I am glad this family took a stand, too bad it was for merely nothing.
“Assistant Prosecutor Chip McConville said it sends a message that if this kind of behavior happens, it will be prosecuted.“ What a joke for a prosecutor.
I hope that Robert and his mother remain strong and resolute in seeking what is right and know that they do not stand alone, plenty of Ohioans find this unacceptable sentencing from Judge James Ronk of Knox County. Is there a “good ole boys club” up there or something? Is Judge Ronk part of it? This IS 2009 and Dale Cline pushed a person down, tied a noose around his neck and dragged him while saying racial slurs and he, Dale Cline, was going to hang him. 10 days? Really? What if it was your loved one Judge Ronk? Would 10 days be satisfactory to you?
It took over a year to get this hoodlum sent to jail for ten days…what a joke. Nasty lawyers behind every tree. This is the justice your tax dollars buy. Just wait till Obammmmmmy gets thru with his reorganization of the courts. No point in even arresting the punk in the first place. How about 60 days on a chain-gang. Sun up til sun down this summer…..He looks like he could use the exercise.
He’s being punished for getting caught, not for what he did to that guy.
The defendant should have been tried and sentenced as an adult.
17 or 18 he was old enough to know that his behavior was wrong…we are not talking about a 7 or 8 year old here. His punishment absolutely did not fit his crime and it was a crime.
He was 17 when he committed the crime.
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