Ohio man arrested after he attacked a 17-year-old he caught performing oral sex on a five-year-old boy
An Ohio man is facing felony assault charges for allegedly attacking a teenager he caught molesting a young boy. 20-year-old Richard Adams was arrested after officers from the Eastlake Police Department responded to a residence on E. 363rd Street at 8:15 pm on Thursday, March 21, on reports of an assault.
According to Cleveland.com, when officers reached the home, they arrested Adams, who claimed he attacked the 17-year-old juvenile because he had caught the teen molesting a five-year-old boy. The five-year-old victim was taken out of the home and placed into protective custody.
"I was doing laundry and I walked out and there was the 17-year-old who had a five-year-old's pants down to his ankles and he had the five-year-old's penis inside of his mouth," Adams told Cleveland19.
Court records reflect Adams' account of events and state he walked in on the teen sexually assaulting the child and began fighting with him. Police did not say if either was injured in the fight or provide any information on the child's condition but did say the teen was charged with rape and Adams with felonious assault.
The latter angered many members of the community, so much so, that the Eastlake Police Department had to put out a statement addressing the nature of his charges. They said they had received "numerous emails, phone calls and communications in which people have expressed their emotions and frustrations" and that while they understood "the interest, passion, and concerns with this type of case," it would still be "processed by the court and will continue to go through the system."
"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 statement read.
"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."
Adams, who was released the day after the incident on a $5,000 personal bond, spoke about the incident himself in an interview with Cleveland19. He said he "snapped" after walking in on the 17-year-old molesting the child and said the victim told him the teen had "touched him right there and that he had touched him the night before."
The 20-year-old even posted a now-removed video on Facebook showing the battered teen covered in blood and being angrily questioned about the assault.
While he says he had no regrets about attacking the teen, he did admit he was sorry about uploading the video.
He said he hoped others in his situation would have taken action as well. "I want everyone to stop all the child offenders and predators out there. I don’t want any child to have to go through that," he explained.
Supporters of Adams have set up a petition asking that all charges against him be dropped. In the statement, they called the charges "ridiculous" and claimed the child rapist was "lucky all he got was a beating," adding that Adams being punished would "deter people from taking action against predators." It has been signed by over a 1,000 people at the time of writing.
His uncle has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for legal costs. It passed the $30,000 goal within two days.