Couple stands in kiddie pool for punishment from judge

PAINESVILLE, Ohio - Painesville Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti is known for his unusual sentences. This one over the weekend at a Painesville festival was no different.

He made a couple stand in a pool and hand out water safety pamphlets or face jail time.

A couple weeks ago, Bruce Crawford and his girlfriend Grace Nash took a leisurely trip down the Grand River.

Little did they know it would cause quite an uproar. First, they did not have their raft registered. Secondly, they were not wearing floatation devices.

A park ranger noticed them and asked if the raft belonged to them. They said no.

The ranger thought someone was missing and called for reinforcements. A lot of time and effort went into this search.

At one point, they crossed paths and for the second time, Crawford and Nash denied being the owners of the raft.

The Detroit Coast Guard dispatched one of their helicopters to aid in the search.

When the couple got back to their car, it was surrounded by emergency vehicles. They thought it would be a good idea to tell the truth.

When all the dust settled, they were sentenced Thursday to 90 days in jail.

Thirty days of the 90-day sentence was immediately suspended.

Cicconetti said they could work off the other 60 days by performing 100 hours of community service, a year of probation and Saturday's event: standing in a kiddie pool handing out pamphlets in the middle of the Painesville International Food Festival.

For Bruce, telling the truth to the authorities is the most important lesson he has learned.

Grace is truly sorry and gives Judge Cicconetti props for being very creative in sentencing.