Man sentenced to year in prison for kicking 4-year-old in head

YOUNGSTOWN — A 48-year-old East Lucius Avenue man has been sentenced to a year in prison for kicking a 4-year-old boy in the head.

John Rich drew the sentence Thursday from Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Rich originally was charged with felonious assault, for which he could have been sentenced to two to eight years in prison. He pleaded guilty, however, to a reduced charge of attempted felonious assault, which carried a one- to five-year prison term.

Rich arrived home drunk, passed out on his front lawn, and was awakened when the boy, who was a neighbor, threw pebbles at him last July 21, said J. Michael Thompson, assistant county prosecutor.

Rich then became enraged and kicked the boy in the head. The boy suffered no apparent permanent injury, Thompson said, based on incident reports he had read.

Rich’s long prior criminal record consisted mostly of drunken-driving offenses, except for assault and domestic violence offenses in recent years, Thompson said.

“Essentially, he is perfectly fine when sober but is a mean drunk,” Thompson observed.