TOW 15: Ohio sheriff confronts protesters in football rape case

An Ohio officer was put under much fire after it was discovered that he had seen a picture of a young woman tied by her ankles and wrists, and watched a footage of several teenagers joking about an assault. In order to protect the local football team which the two teenagers responsible for the assault participated in, the officer brushed the footage away and simply said that the young boys were being "stupid." The protest of about 1,000 people urged the officer, Fred Abdalla to be taken off the force. They also passed around the microphone and shared their stories of rape. The two teenage boys will be tried under juvenile terms.

The author of this article is Drew Singers, and it is from Reuters, an international news agency. It is a credible source.

This article is not necessarily important in context, as it simply tells of a group of peoples' unhappiness with the way a sheriff handled a case. However, it can be a large warning for other officers and sheriffs on how they should handle similar cases in the future, to take footage and evidence more seriously and not brush them off so easily.

The purpose of this article was to tell of a sheriff's attempt to approach the protesters and try to tell his side of the story. 

The text was for the general public.

Pathos was used. "The protest's masked leader ... invited up to the makeshift stage anyone who was a victim of sexual assault. Protesters immediately flooded the platform, which was slightly smaller than a boxing ring" (Singers para 11). Having the protesters come up and share their difficult stories is an example of pathos. In addition, those willing to share was a large number, as described by its size as "slightly smaller than a boxing ring. Although this may have been a tactic used to make Abdalla feel guilty, it is still a strong use of pathos to include this small detail in the article. It gives the readers something on an emotional level to connect with, and it may even persuade the readers into supporting the protesters on their rally against Abdalla.

The author's purpose of telling the sheriff's attempt to exonerate himself, as well as the protesters' rally, was achieved. Although more background information was told, it still included a good amount of what the protesters were doing and saying.