Alva men accused of torturing disabled man
Alva men accused of torturing disabled man
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By Tony Thornton
Published: April 11, 2008
ALVA — As a mentally challenged man screamed and pleaded for his torture to end, his attackers held him down, shot him repeatedly with paintball and BB guns branded him with burned coat hangers.
"Mommy, mommy," the victim screamed, to no avail.
His torturers videotaped the episode, with one so proud of his work he listed his own name as the video's director, producer and star.
Now, two Alva men face felony charges in the undated video. A Woods County judge set bail at $75,000.
"It was a gruesome assault," said Ben Orcutt, Alva's assistant police chief.
The victim, Harry Dahling worked with Jesse T. Wallace and Marvin Michael Tarver at a local food processing plant.
Police confirmed the victim is autistic and said he had trouble answering questions about the assault.
"He may be 20 or 21 years old, but he acts like a juvenile," Orcutt said.
Maker hoped to sell videos
According to a police affidavit, Wallace's father turned in the hour-long video and six mini-DVDs to the local Department of Human Services office, which led to the police investigation.
Orcutt said Jesse Wallace later told police he transferred the video's contents onto the DVDs and hoped to sell them.
"They wanted to make 'Jackass' style video," Orcutt said, referring to the former cable TV series depicting young men injuring themselves using different methods.
He said Wallace "didn't have an answer" for how he planned to sell the videos.
"He hadn't thought it through, obviously," Orcutt said.
Orcutt said the abuse of the young autistic man comprised 15-20 minutes of the video. In other segments, Dahling subjected his "friends" to abuse, which Orcutt conceded could pose a problem if the case goes to trial.
Orcutt said he suspects the video was shot within the past six months.
'Boredom, mayhem and chaos'
According to the affidavit, a police officer recognized Wallace in the video because of a previous traffic stop.
The video depicted Wallace and others branding the letters B, M and C into Dahling's chest, the affidavit states.
Wallace told police those letters stand for boredom, mayhem and chaos, Orcutt said.
During the branding, the victim is heard screaming, "No, no, no, stop it, I don't want to go through any more pain," according to the affidavit.
After being shot several times with the BB pistol and another gun, the victim cries and attempts to leave, but is cornered by Wallace and another man and told to get down or he will be shot again, the affidavit states.
He screams, "I'll be good, I'll be good" but Wallace uses the gun barrel to push the man's head to the floor, according to the affidavit.
In another scene, Dahling man is shot several times with a paintball gun, then lifts his shirt to reveal welts.
'Producer' has prior record
Wallace, 21, and Tarver, 22, were charged Tuesday in Woods County District Court with maiming and assault and battery with a deadly weapon. The combined maximum sentence is 17 years in prison upon conviction.
Wallace is on probation after pleading guilty last year to child abuse, domestic abuse and two cruelty-to-animals charges.
The child abuse involved a spiral leg fracture and bite marks on his 2-year-old stepchild. Wallace gave conflicting accounts about how the injuries occurred, court records show.
One of the animal cruelty charges involved a kitten that was thrown against a wall.
Town reacts
By Friday afternoon, hours after the suspects' arrest made the local paper, Alva was talking about the videotaped torture.
Wendy Cook, secretary at Cookie's Bowl and Cafe, said she was having a hard time imagining that something like that could happen in her home town.
"It's a bit unnerving to think something like this could happen in a small town like this," she said. "I mean, I know this happens everywhere, but you just never think about it."
Cook said Cookie's employees and vendors who read the paper were all shocked.
CONTRIBUTING: Staff Writer Johnny Johnson and the Associated Press
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As for the allegation that the victim (Dahling) may have "abused" his "friends" in the video, I would venture to guess that they put him up to it for the making of thier so-called "film".