How thee "News" tells you the 11 yo boy is White, without telling you he's White.
Thursday's sexual assault and beating of an 11-year-old boy has frightened the Mineral City community, said Heather Ries. She is a clerk at the M A Drive Thru, located across Grant Street from the pa…
www.cantonrep.com
Community 'outraged' over assault on 11-year-old
Mineral City children don't play in the park, ride bikes or visit the park after child's assualt
Nancy Molnar Times-Reporter staff writer
[IMG alt="TIMES-REPORTER PAT BURK
M A Drive Thru customer Melissa Pappas (left) and clerk Heather Ries talk about the boy who was beaten in Mineral City on Thursday night. Village residents say they are in shock that such a crime would occur in their hometown."]
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MINERAL CITY On the 12th day of summer vacation, children did not play on the sidewalks and in the park in this village of 724 people.
Thursday's sexual assault and beating of an 11-year-old boy has frightened the community, said Heather Ries. She is a clerk at the M A Drive Thru, located across Grant Street from the park that adjoins the property where the crime occurred.
"Nobody's playing at the park; no kids are riding their bicycles," Ries said Monday. "It's on everybody's mind, still."
Normally, she said, "That park, you could hear people playing, those kids down there playing, being loud, and doing what kids do. I haven't heard anybody. Not even with their parents has any of the kids been over there. "
Ries was among some 300 who attended a standing-room-only Sunday prayer vigil for the victim across the street at St. Paul's Community Church. The child's grandfather spoke at the service.
"He's such a brave little boy," Ries said of the youth who is being treated at Akron Children's Hospital. "It's amazing what he endured and that he's still alive and he's getting better every day. I talked to his grandpa through Facebook Messenger on Saturday, and he said he's doing extremely well considering what he's been through."
Randy Vento, a 31-year-old from Florida, is being held in the Tuscarawas County Jail on a $1 million bond, charged with felonious assault. His criminal history includes aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon.
[in picture on right] Ries said her own son Isaiah, also 11, is a friend of the injured boy. The two are to be sixth-graders at Tuscarawas Valley Middle School next school year.
"He's a very good boy," Ries said of the victim. "He's well-mannered. He wasn't one of the loud kids that would be all rowdy when they come through here.
"The whole community, they still talk about it. And everybody's still shook up.
Nobody wants their kids to walk around by themselves. Like a boy came in here. He's about 14. And when he was going to leave, I'm like, 'Be careful.' That's just the way it feels out here.
"Everybody that's from here, is like, it wasn't like this when we were growing up. You could let your kids ...," Ries said, trailing off with the thought of the freedom to play and explore outdoors that was once a natural part of childhood.
"Everybody knows everybody in this town, so when this happened to one of our own, it's not just some name in the paper to us," Ries said. "Everybody is just devastated."
"It's disgusting," said M A Drive Thru customer Melissa Pappas. "It's horrific for these children now. Summer's just begun and now they all have to walk in fear. I just think it's sad. It's changed his life forever and it's changed the town forever.
"I've been sick ever since," Pappas said. "You just can't get it out of your mind."
Regulars gathered at Steineck's Donuts and Cakes were also offended by the thought of the crime that occurred nearby.
"It should never have happened; it was unprovoked," said John Amadii, from Perry Heights, between Massillon and Canton.
His friend, George Mali of Waynesburg, contended the incident occurred because the suspect had not been kept in jail long enough for his past offenses.
"They don't put them deep enough under the jail," said Gary Braniff of Mineral City. He said he had seen Vento around town shortly before his arrest.
"I think the guy has been around the area for quite a while," said Steineck's customer Kari Vandine of East Sparta. She said she had seen Vento about a week ago.
She was seated in the bakery with sons Dominick, 11, and Deackon, 10. She said the fear of the kind of violent act that occurred here Thursday has always caused her to be cautious about their safety.
"I've always been strict with them," she said. "I don't even let them wander the streets with their friends."
Many parents expressed similar concerns after the prayer vigil, said Pastor Mark Gross, of St. Paul's. He organized the service in his role as leader of the Mineral City Ministerial Association.
"They're fearful of letting their children out," he said. "They can't quite understand how something like this could happen in a small community.
"There was a great outpouring of spirit and support from the community," he said of the prayer service. "We're here to support the family both monetarily and prayerfully. We're hoping and praying that the little boy who was beaten can regain his health."
Other clergy participating in the service were Pastor Bob Smith, of Mineral City United Methodist Church; Pastor Karma Burton, of the Mineral City Church of the Nazarene; and Pastor Brian Starcher, and Associate Pastor Al Walker of Christ Apostolic Church.
"We told people on several occasions that God hears and answers their prayers," Gross said. "We just wanted to give them hope and not defeat."
He said the victim's grandfather urged those gathered to contact Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to ask that action be taken to try to prevent such crimes from occurring again.
Attendees at the prayer vigil contributed $2,088.78 for the victim, said Gross. Donations may be made at any First Federal Community Bank location. Checks may be written to the Mineral City Warrior Fund.
