Hate crime charges upheld for 3 accused of beating gay man
Hate crime charges upheld for 3 accused of beating gay man
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN rhussain@suntimes.com
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
February 26, 2010
http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2069373,CST-NWS-hate25.article
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter rhussain@suntimes.com
If someone makes gay slurs in the middle of a fight -- is it a hate crime? Even if the victim wasn't targeted because of his sexual orientation?
Those were the questions posed to Cook County Judge Ramon Ocasio III on Wednesday during a hearing involving three Evanston men charged with a hate crime for beating up a gay man on the CTA in January.
Attorneys for the three said the man -- Daniel Hauff, 33, of Rogers Park -- intervened in a fight the men were involved in. They said state law says that for an incident to constitute a hate crime, a person has to be attacked because of his sexual orientation or race.
For at least a few minutes, Ocasio agreed that the men -- Sean Little, Kevin McAndrew and Benjamin Eder -- weren't guilty of a hate crime for that reason.
But after an exasperated Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti repeated how the men allegedly taunted Hauff as a "faggot" and asked him whether they'd get AIDS from him after he suffered a bloody nose and cuts, Ocasio reversed his decision and upheld the hate crime charges.
The men were originally charged with misdemeanor battery. But Tuesday, prosecutors upgraded the charges to a felony hate crime and aggravated battery. Ocasio issued a $10,000 personal recognizance bond for the trio.
At Wednesday's hearing, Antonietti said Hauff confronted the men on the Red Line when he heard McAndrew, 23, bullying another gay rider.
Little, a 21-year-old Loyola student, turned to Hauff, called him a "faggot" and accused "the victim of being the other person's boyfriend," Antonietti said. After the other man got off the L, the three men started shoving Hauff and repeatedly called him "faggot," Antonietti said. Little allegedly punched Hauff. The fight eventually spilled from the train to the Argyle platform, where Eder, 23, was seen punching Hauff, Antonietti said.
Little's attorney, Robert Givertz, denied the men used slurs and denied the case constituted a hate crime.
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN rhussain@suntimes.com
Copyright by The Chicago Sun Times
February 26, 2010
http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2069373,CST-NWS-hate25.article
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter rhussain@suntimes.com
If someone makes gay slurs in the middle of a fight -- is it a hate crime? Even if the victim wasn't targeted because of his sexual orientation?
Those were the questions posed to Cook County Judge Ramon Ocasio III on Wednesday during a hearing involving three Evanston men charged with a hate crime for beating up a gay man on the CTA in January.
Attorneys for the three said the man -- Daniel Hauff, 33, of Rogers Park -- intervened in a fight the men were involved in. They said state law says that for an incident to constitute a hate crime, a person has to be attacked because of his sexual orientation or race.
For at least a few minutes, Ocasio agreed that the men -- Sean Little, Kevin McAndrew and Benjamin Eder -- weren't guilty of a hate crime for that reason.
But after an exasperated Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti repeated how the men allegedly taunted Hauff as a "faggot" and asked him whether they'd get AIDS from him after he suffered a bloody nose and cuts, Ocasio reversed his decision and upheld the hate crime charges.
The men were originally charged with misdemeanor battery. But Tuesday, prosecutors upgraded the charges to a felony hate crime and aggravated battery. Ocasio issued a $10,000 personal recognizance bond for the trio.
At Wednesday's hearing, Antonietti said Hauff confronted the men on the Red Line when he heard McAndrew, 23, bullying another gay rider.
Little, a 21-year-old Loyola student, turned to Hauff, called him a "faggot" and accused "the victim of being the other person's boyfriend," Antonietti said. After the other man got off the L, the three men started shoving Hauff and repeatedly called him "faggot," Antonietti said. Little allegedly punched Hauff. The fight eventually spilled from the train to the Argyle platform, where Eder, 23, was seen punching Hauff, Antonietti said.
Little's attorney, Robert Givertz, denied the men used slurs and denied the case constituted a hate crime.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 2:15 AM
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