Man Beat Up Teen Who Was Allegedly Molesting 5-Year-Old as Community Rallies to Fund Legal Defense
Strangers have donated more than $30,000 to cover legal expenses for a 20-year-old Ohio man following his arrest last week on accusations he assaulted a 17-year-old he allegedly caught molesting a 5-year-old.
Richard Adams is out on bond following his arrest Thursday on a single count of felonious assault.
A statement from the Eastlake Police Department confirms the allegations against Adams, who is accused of beating the teen after allegedly walking in on him sexually assaulting the little boy.
According to local reports, Adams has acknowledged attacking the teen.
“I was doing laundry and I walked out and there was the 17-year-old” assaulting the boy, Adams alleged to Cleveland 19.
The expecting father said he started pummeling the teen after getting him away from the child.
“He said that the 17-year-old had touched him right there and that he had previously touched him the night before,” Adams said, adding he then flew into a rage. “I kind of just snapped, I didn’t know what to think.”
Adams later posted video footage of the teen on Facebook, but has since removed the clip.
The teen has not been named, but has been charged on suspicion of rape.
Adams’ uncle established a GoFundMe page to help cover Adams’ legal costs.
“He needs lake [county’s] best to defend him,” the uncle, Jeff Cook, wrote on the page. “Unfortunately his job is seasonal and hasn’t returned back to work yet. Only gets enough while laid off to pay needed bills. Anything will help him.”
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The Eastlake Police Department has received criticism online over the arrest, and acknowledged the matter in a Facebook post over the weekend.
“We have received numerous e-mails, phone calls and communications in which people have expressed their emotions and frustrations with the recent case that we had involving the investigation of a rape of a 5-year-old and the assault of the accused 17-year-old male,” the post explains. “The 20-year-old male accused of assaulting the 17-year-old has been out on a personal bond since the day after the incident and has been assigned a court date.
“We truly understand the interest, passion and concerns with this type of case. It has been processed by the court and will continue to go through the system,” it continues. “Most of the people within our police departments, courts and the entire justice system have families of their own and the men and women are diligently working to ensure that everything is done correctly so that justice is served.”
The post concludes: “To attack people within the system to achieve a certain outcome is not what justice is about. We appreciate the impact that this story has had on the community and beyond but we expect people to be civil in expressing their disagreement and/or support of what has and will take place.”
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
