Teen Sentenced In Noose Attack

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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