BUCYRUS—Crawford County Prosecutor Matt Crall has provided further clarification regarding his recent decision to charge a 17-year-old Bucyrus student with criminal mischief in a recent incident involving a beheaded dog.
Crall clarified that the video taken by the juvenile is a three-second video that shows him placing the severed head on a guard rail. The minor is not shown beheading the dog.
The juvenile, who has no prior record, cannot be tried as an adult on a 5th-degree felony. An adult with no prior record tried on a fifth-degree felony would not be prison eligible.
Furthermore, the abuse of a human corpse is only a fifth-degree felony punishable with up to 12 months in prison. Charges filed by prosecutors must meet criteria set down by the Ohio Revised Code.
Based on the requirements that guide criminal charging outlines, the decision to charge the defendant as a juvenile was a judicially accurate decision.
It is the constitutional right of this juvenile to answer to the charges against him in juvenile court. If found guilty of the third-degree misdemeanor, the defendant could face up to sixty days in jail and a $500 fine.