Jarrett Smorado may have the mental capacity of a third-grader, but he knows enough about justice to want some.

Mr. Smorado, 35, of Vestaburg, Washington County, has been the target of harassment almost since he and his mother, Pearl, moved to this rural village in East Bethlehem Township.

His mother said she is terrified that "something really bad will happen" -- if not to her son, then by her son, who is becoming increasingly angry and frustrated.

Late last month, someone threw a beer bottle at him from a passing car. It struck him in the head. No blood was drawn but a doctor diagnosed him with a concussion.

Mr. Smorada was fighting mad.

"He went out into the street, screaming and yelling for the cowards to come out. I just don't know what's going to happen next," Mrs. Smorado said.

Capt. Mark Pompe of the Fredericktown Police Department, a one-man operation, is angry, too.

"If I can catch them, I'm going to charge them with everything I possibly can," said the officer.

The problem is catching them. Capt. Pompe said he's knocked on doors and interviewed witnesses but no one is able to specifically identify the bullies. Still, he's confident that with time, he'll prevail. "I want them bad," he said.

"I don't blame [the police for not being able to arrest anyone yet] but I don't know what we can do," said Mrs. Smorado, 63.

She said she wants her son to stay in the house, away from the potential for bullying and harassment. But, walking the streets of his little town is one of his few pleasures and opportunities to get out. He does piecework several hours a day, three days a week at a Washington facility operated by the Association for Retarded Citizens.

Mr. Smorado believes its mostly teenagers who tease him, calling him names and throwing sticks, stones, and now bottles at him. Mrs. Smorado has witnessed the obscenities. "It's language I couldn't even repeat," she said.

All her son wants is to be left alone and in peace.

"He just wants to walk around without being yelled at," she said.

She and Mr. Smorado moved to the little town three years ago from the city after her husband, Patrick, died at the age of 61. Crime was escalating and she thought she and her family of two would be safer in a more rural area. Now she said she fears that violence has found her family.

Two witnesses have written letters, verifying the harassment:

"My wife, Jennifer, and I have been the unfortunate witnesses of the inappropriate torture of Jarrett. We have seen local teens ... do this on various occasions. Each incident, we have verbally instructed them to stop. Jarrett is a very nice young man who is always trying to help anyone he can," reads a letter from Jason Gilbert, signed March 5.

In an interview, Mr. Gilbert postulated that bullying is not uncommon but is sickening to witness. "This probably happens in a lot of different towns, but when it happens right in front of you, it's something you want to see end. It's something you want to bring to someone's attention," he said.

On March 6, John R. Phillips wrote:

"This letter is to confirm that I have witnessed on several occasions what would likely be called harassment, tormenting or threatening of Jarrett. This seems to be done to provoke him, as I have never seen him as the instigator of the interactions. I have seen both high school-aged children and adults incite this. On several occasions I have invited him to my home to help him manage and avoid further confrontations."

Mr. Smorado has been diagnosed as mentally retarded and with psychological disorders that his mother said are worsening due to the harassment.

Mrs. Smorado said she's afraid she won't be able to restrain her 215-pound, 5-foot-10-inch son much longer. "He knows enough that he doesn't deserve this and he wants some justice. And some peace."