Teen sentenced to 12 years in prison in rock-throwing case

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - This time it was the Rev. Johannes Christian looking down.

Blinded and disfigured by a cannonball-sized rock tossed from a highway overpass as he drove underneath, Christian stood tall in the courtroom yesterday and hovered over the 16-year-old boy convicted of the crime.

But vengeance was not on the mind of the minister, who lost his sight and had every bone in his face broken. Instead, he thanked Jacob McNary for admitting he threw the rock.

"It's my belief that there's no such thing as a bad kid," Christian told the teen. "You made a very poor choice in the event that changed my life."

Christian, 51, of Columbus, suffered severe facial injuries when the 3.75-pound rock smashed through his windshield and struck him in the head as he drove on Interstate 70 last July near Springfield.

Christian and his 16-year-old foster son were returning to Columbus from Peoria, Ill., where they had attended a christening for one of Christian's relatives. The boy was slightly injured.

Clark County Common Pleas Judge Richard O'Neill yesterday sentenced McNary to 12 years in prison on attempted murder and vandalism charges. McNary, who pleaded guilty to the charges Jan. 28, could have been sentenced to as many as 21 years in prison.