Five Ohio teenagers charged in fake ALS bucket attack

By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Five Ohio teenagers were charged on Tuesday with dumping a bucket containing urine, tobacco and spit over the head of a boy with autism who thought he was participating in the ALS "Ice Bucket Challenge," a county prosecutor said. The five unidentified high school students face disorderly conduct charges and three of them also were charged with assault in juvenile court for the Aug. 18 incident, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty said in statement. The group doused the 14-year-old boy with the fouled water in Bay Village, a suburb west of Cleveland, and posted a video of the incident to Instagram, Bay Village police said. His mother reported the attack on Sept. 3. Participants in the "Ice Bucket Challenge" get doused with cold water to raise money for research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The victim regularly socialized with the group and "felt humiliated," after the incident, police said. "It crossed a moral and legal line, and even the five alleged perpetrators understand that and have expressed regret," Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor Duane Deskins said. The teenagers face detention, community service or participation in a diversion program if they are found delinquent in the case, Deskins said. (Reporting by Kim Palmer; Editing by Brendan O'Brien and Sandra Maler)