Ohio dad gets jail time for mocking girl with cerebral palsy
43-year-old William Bailey sentenced to month in prison
A northeast Ohio man accused of making fun of a young girl with cerebral palsy has been sentenced to a month in jail.
Canton Municipal Judge John A. Poulos ordered the maximum sentence for 43-year-old William Bailey, who pleaded no contest Tuesday to reduced misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing.
The (Canton) Repository reports that Bailey was caught on cellphone video at a school bus stop in October making fun of how the 10-year-old disabled girl walks. The video of him seemingly imitating her limp was disseminated online and on local TV news. Bailey denied he was mocking the girl, saying he was reacting to name-calling directed at his 9-year-old son.
The video was shot in October by Hope Holocomb's grandmother at a bus stop, and shows what appears to be both Bailey and his son each walking with a pronounced limp.
Bailey, for his part, declined to talk on camera, but at the time told The New York Daily News that he was injured on the job and was suffering from bruised ribs and twisted back when the video was shot.
His wife told Fox8.com that this is all part of an ongoing dispute and that Hope's family has called her son names.
Bailey apologized to the girl and her family in a statement Tuesday.
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