An Ohio Latino teen, Robert Cantú (seen in the video above) was allegedly the victim of an unspeakable hate crime: last year, he was reportedly tied by his neck with a noose and dragged by a pickup truck in his hometown of Mount Vernon.

According to Cantu the incident occurred on or about May 30, 2008. Cantu said he was with a friend when Klein and three others jumped him, and tied a rope with a noose around his neck. The other end of the rope was tied to a truck and Cantu said he was dragged for several feet. After stopping the truck, the attackers, allegedly including Klein, exited the truck and began to attack Cantu. According to Cantu, a passer-by, Ezzy Thompson, who was known to Cantu, intervened, chasing off the attackers and removing the noose from Cantu’s neck.

“[Thompson] was with his girlfriend,” said Cantu. “He saw me on the ground and ran over and pushed the guys off me. He got the noose off me. I’ve known Ezzy for about eight years. He was just in the area.”

Cantú’s mother said it took police 10 months to make an arrest, and that only happened after the Anti-Defamation League applied pressure to authorities.

But that’s not all. A second victimization of Robert has also just happened, as his harasser, also a teenager, has been sentenced to a mere 10 days in jail after a plea deal.

LULAC Ohio is hosting a “Vigil for Justice” this Friday in Mount Vernon. Details after the jump.

Date: Friday, July 24, 2009
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Location: Public Square
Street: Downtown
City/Town: Mount Vernon, OH
Phone: 6145711750
Email: VigilforJustice@gmail.com

Via / Citizen Orange, Mount Vernon News and VotoLatino