LIMA, OH(WLIO) - Crossroads Crisis Center took a night to honor victims and those who stand up for them.

Crossroads Crisis Center honors the victims of domestic violence during their 25th annual tree planting. The tree was planted at the Moyer Nature Center in the nature preserve at Bluffton University, which is the first tree planting that has happened outside of the Lima area. The tree symbolizes the lives that continue to grow after domestic violence, and it is planted in memory of victims that died and in honor of survivors of abusive relationships. 

Many people and community groups walked the streets of Lima to raise awareness for an important cause. October is "Domestic Violence Awareness Month," and on Tuesday, Crossroads Crisis Center kicked off their month-long campaign to raise awareness their "We Walk for Victims" to honor all survivors and victims of domestic violence. Before the walk inside the Lima Public Library, Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith signed a proclamation recognizing the city's support for domestic violence awareness along with Crossroads dedicating two books to the library. Tuesday night's walk is the first of many events planned by Crossroads to honor victims and survivors all month long.

A 39-year-old Hocking County woman was sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison for raping two children, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today. Irene Marie Day of Logan pleaded guilty on Aug. 1 to two counts of rape, both first-degree felonies, and two counts of gross sexual imposition, third-degree felonies. Her sentence requires her to register as a Tier 3 sex offender upon her release from prison.

July 8, 2024, Press Release from the Office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine: (COLUMBUS, Ohio)— Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today announced nearly $900,000 in grants to support law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim advocacy groups in their shared goal of supporting sexual assault survivors and holding attackers accountable. The Ohio Department of Public Safety's Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) is awarding the funding as part of the new Ohio Sexual Assault Investigations Grant Program. Governor DeWine launched the program in February to help with the costs associated with sexual assault investigations, criminal prosecution, and victim advocacy.

July 2, 2024, Press Release from the FBI Cleveland Division: [Cleveland, OH] FBI Cleveland and the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit urges people to take notice when their friends, family, classmates, and coworkers show disturbing signs that they may be on a “pathway to violence.” Drawing on years of research on targeted violence and mass shooters—to include the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022 in which 19 elementary school students and two teachers were killed—the FBI unit best known for its “profilers” is asking people to confide in someone they trust or respect when they see behaviors they think are concerning. Too often, the signs are ignored or dismissed because they are not recognized as potentially dangerous, or observers will directly confront the person they are concerned about, believing that alone will be enough to defuse concerning behaviors.

ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - Depression, isolation from friends and family, and low self-esteem. These are just a few signs that senior citizens …

42-year-old Dewayne Carter Jr. was indicted by an Allen Co. Grand Jury on 4 charges connected to a January 12, 2024 shooting in Lima.

A Lima man has been found guilty of raping two girls over multiple years. It took an Allen County jury an hour and a half to find 48-year-old Paul Bowman guilty of 10 counts of rape and five counts of sexual battery. Two additional charges were dropped on the final day of his trial. 

A run was organized to honor the memory of a Lima native who lost her life to domestic violence, by raising money to help others in similar situations.