Mill Creek MetroParks again the victim of anti-Semitic drawings

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

Mill Creek MetroParks is again the victim of anti-Semitic graffiti.

Park police on Monday were sent to the MetroParks Bikeway, where graffiti depicting Nazi symbols, derogatory terms and other messages were found on the trail between Kirk and New roads.

Pictures depict spots on the trail on which someone spray-painted “Rape is OK,” “Kill All,” and a swastika. The N-word was sprayed onto a bench, and “Kill all women” was drawn onto a wooden fence.

Park employees worked Monday afternoon to remove the graffiti.

The incident is under investigation, and MetroParks police will increase their patrols of the bikeway.

The incident is the second time in less than a year that anti-Semitic graffiti has been found in the park. Last September, park police charged Scott Spencer, then 25, of Canfield, for the crime.

Mahoning County court records indicate Spencer was convicted last month of ethnic intimidation after pleading no contest. He was fined $150, sentenced to a 90-day jail sentence with 90 days suspended, placed on probation for two years, and ordered to pay $200 in restitution to the park. A criminal-mischief charge was dismissed.