SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - An after school fight - that appears to have racial overtones - is now being looked at as a possible hate crime.
Tuesday, ABC 4 News was the only station to share the story of a brutal beating of a 13-year-old black student in Santaquin. And on Wednesday, we learned the Utah County Attorney is planning filing assault charges and a possible hate crime enhancement to that charge against the 16-year-old suspect.
Seventh grader Jordan Henson says he was called "chocolate" and the "n-word" by an older student last week. He and witnesses say the teen then followed him when he got off the bus and continued to call him derogatory names and trying to get him to fight. The fight happened, but according to witnesses it was all one sided. Mason Call says the suspect hit Jordan several times and when Jordan fell to the ground he hit him one more time and left. Mason says the older teen constantly "Laughs at him because of the color of his skin."
Jordan's mother, Brenda Henson, wants the case to be a hate crime. "It was a hate crime. Our community should standup and say we're not going to tolerate this." While Utah has a hate crime law - it doesn't identify so called protected classes of people - by race, religion or gender. However, judges can consider aggravating factors related to terrorizing someone when they prosecute and punish.
So, if the suspect is charged - those charges can be enhanced. And that's what the Utah County Attorney is apparently considering. Brenda Henson likes the sound of that. "I would like everyone to know this boy targeted my son because of the color of his skin."
However, the suspects mother doesn't believe that and doesn't her son is the only one at fault. "It was both of them. They both threw remarks. And unfortunately my son was older and didn't know how old the kid was."
