Edmond Aviv, of South Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, claims a judge has “destroyed” him for ordering him to stand on a corner for hours wearing an “I am a bully” sign, Sunday, April 13.
The sentence stems from an ongoing dispute between 62-year-old Aviv and neighbor Sandra Prugh. Prugh claimed Aviv bullied her and her disabled children for the past 15 years. Prugh has two adult adopted children with developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy. Her husband has dementia, and her son is paralyzed.
Prugh said in a letter to the court Aviv had called her an ethnic slur while she was holding her adopted Black children, spit on her several times, and routinely threw dog feces on her son’s car windshield. She describes how Aviv once smeared feces on a wheelchair ramp her children use. Aviv pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, but denied bullying her family.
Beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday, Aviv sat in a chair with a large, handwritten sign describing his actions as a neighborhood bully. He ignored honking horns, pedestrians taking pictures, and obscenities yelled at him.
“The judge destroyed me,” Aviv said. “This isn’t fair at all.”
The judge also ordered Aviv to serve 15 days in jail and participate in anger management classes and counseling. Aviv also had to write a letter of apology to Prugh.