http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/day ... 03384.htmlTeen remains critical after assault at group home
Suspect has no prior history of violence, Warren County Children Services saysBy Hannah Poturalski, Staff Writer Updated 1:13 PM Friday, December 23, 2011
FAIRFIELD TWP. —
A 16-year-old boy assaulted Monday night at a group home remains in critical condition at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, a hospital official confirmed today.The Fairfield High School student was brutally beaten between 7:30 and 8 p.m. Monday at One Way Farm on River Road and has been hospitalized since late Monday after police received reports of the assault three hours later around 11:30 p.m., said Fairfield Twp. Police Chief Richard J. St. John.
A 17-year-old male is accused of punching the victim, throwing him to the ground — where he landed on his head — and laying on top of him before punching him repeatedly in the head, the chief said.
“We called it a fight but it really wasn’t much of a fight,” St. John said. “The arrestee just basically assaulted the victim.”St. John said Thursday the teens, both residents at the group home, “were fighting over a flashlight that each one claimed was his.”
The suspect, a ward of Warren County Children Services, was arrested late Monday and is being held at Butler County Juvenile Justice Center on the felony charge of aggravated assault. A court date is set for Jan. 3.
Patricia Jacobs, director of Warren County Children Services, said the suspect in this case had been placed at One Way Farm at the end of November and that he had
no prior history of violence. Prior to placement, the teenager was living with his family in Warren County and had no prior involvement with children services.
Jacobs said the suspect was the only youth placed at the facility by Warren County Children Services, which has occasionally placed children at One Way Farm over the course of many years.
“We try to make placements tailored to the needs of the child,” Jacobs said. “We try to constantly be assessing those placements because sometimes it’s not a good fit.”
Jacobs said the length of a youth’s stay in a group home such as One Way Farm is based on regular assessments of the child, reports from the treatment providers, and activities of the parents. She said it’s harder to place older teenagers that might have developmental problems.
“It’s kind of the nature of teenage boys, they have fights,” Jacobs said. “Places like One Way Farm don’t have kids with typical upbringings.”
Greg Elam, board president of One Way Farm, said fights of this severity are “rare events” at the facility. St. John said officers are called fairly often to One Way Farm, but mainly on reports of runaway juveniles.St. John said Fairfield Twp. police have been dispatched to One Way Farm a total of 92 times since Jan. 1. In 2010, police responded 166 times to the facility. St. John said he’s unable to distinguish calls to the facility based on type of call.
St. John said he doesn’t have any information on the victim’s home life and where he is from. He did say the victim’s grandmother is his legal guardian.
St. John said the investigation is ongoing but no interviews are planned for Friday in the investigation. Detectives have interviewed witnesses and staff of the facility, St. John said.
St. John doesn’t anticipate any change in the charge against the suspect.
“Should the circumstances change as far as the condition (of the victim) we will consult with the prosecutor,” St. John said.
One Way Farm is non-profit organization licensed by the state to provide residential care 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. The agency has served about 8,500 children since 1976, according to its website. Earlier this year, One Way Farm was granted the 2011 Better Business Bureau Torch Award.
Jody Canupp, development director at One Way Farm, said the agency accepts children from nine Ohio counties, including Butler, Warren and Hamilton counties, but she declined to release the names of the other counties. According to the facility’s website, each of the male and female shelters have 20 beds available but Canupp also declined to release how many beds are currently filled.
When asked about the agency’s protocol for responding to fights, Canupp said, “I don’t care to answer that question,” and referred further comment to Fairfield Twp. police detectives.
Canupp said it is not state regulation to have medical staff on-hand. Canupp said about 30 people are employed at One Way Farm, an amount she said is above state regulation.
According to the agency’s financial statements, total income is about $1.5 million with more than $560,000 coming from children services agencies for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010.Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2179 or
Hannah.Poturalski@coxinc.com.