By court order, an Ohio man was forced to wear an "I AM A BULLY!" sign after harassing his neighbors for more than 10 years.
Edmond Aviv, 62, was accused of bullying and harassing his neighbor, Sandra Prugh, and her adopted, disabled African-American children for over a decade. Prugh has two adult adopted children with developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy and epilepsy, as well as a husband with dementia and a paralyzed son.
Prugh said in a letter to the court that Aviv called her an ethnic slur, spit on her several times, regularly threw dog feces on her son's car windshield, and once smeared feces on a brand new wheelchair ramp.
"I am very concerned for the safety of our family," Prugh wrote, according to The Associated Press.
In March, Aviv pled no contest to fourth degree disorderly conduct and was found guilty. Aviv, an electrician, has been convicted three other times for harassment involving his neighbors.
South Euclid Municipal Judge Court Judge Gayle Williams-Byers passed down the odd sentencing. Aviv had to wear a sign for one day that said, "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," according to Eyewitness News.
The judge even stipulated guidelines as to how the sign should look, saying it should be "large enough for a normal person to see the sign from 25 feet away." Aviv stood on the busy intersection of Trebisky Road and Monticello Boulevard on Sunday, April 13 until 2 p.m.
Not only that, but Aviv was sentenced to 15 days in jail, seven months' probation, 100 hours of community service, anger management classes and mental-health counseling. He was also forced to publish a letter of apology to Prugh in a local newspaper.
"I want to express my sincere apology for acting irrationally towards your house and the safety of your children," Aviv wrote, according to Cleveland.com. "I understand my actions could have caused harm but at that time I was not really thinking about it."
Aviv started his five-hour shift at about 8:57 a.m. with his sign, written in black marker on the side of a cardboard box. The first honk sounded at 9:02 a.m.
