Three teenagers who were allegedly caught on camera attacking a man with a mental disability are now charged with a hate crime.
On Monday prosecutors filed more charges against the three Delaware teens who are accused of assaulting a 26-year-old Newark-area man who suffers from a neurodevelopmental disorder.
The teens were initially charged with offensive touching, assault of a vulnerable adult and conspiracy in the third degree. They are now charged with a hate crime, crime against a vulnerable adult, abuse of an impaired adult and other related offenses. One of the suspects, a 14-year-old boy, is also charged with two additional counts of hate crime and crime against a vulnerable adult and one additional count of harassment, offensive touching and abuse of an impaired adult.
“It is our responsibility to protect people who cannot protect themselves,” Attorney General Beau Biden said. “Targeting and assaulting a vulnerable victim is especially egregious and those who do so face significant consequences under the law. Every parent needs to talk with their children about this incident and how to prevent these types of crimes.”
The teens were arrested last month after videos of the assaults on the man were posted on Instagram.
One video shows a teenager chasing after the man in front of an apartment complex. The man runs away from the teen, begging for him to leave him alone. The teen then grabs the man and body slams him to the ground as he screams out in agony. The teen then punches and kicks him in the head as his friends laugh in the background.
Two other videos show the teens attacking the same man in a wooded area. One video shows a teen once again body slamming the man to the ground as his friends laugh. The other video shows the teens punching and pushing the man to the ground.
The manager of a Delaware McDonald's also told NBC10 he spotted the teens bullying the man and throwing his lunch out onto a busy road.
The videos inspired a massive social media response and the clips quickly went viral.
"It's been a frenzy," said Soraya Cristan, a teenager from White Settlement, Texas.
Cristan claims the videos inspired her to create an anti-bullying campaign online.
"The tag #TheBullyProject has had over 50,000 posts," Cristan said. "People have spread the awareness all over the Internet."
Angeliz Marrero, a 16-year-old student at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, told NBC10 she also received a huge response after reposting the videos on her Instagram page and using #TheBullyProject hashtag. The campaign was personal for Marrero who says her brother is mentally challenged and was beaten up a few years back.
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"I want something to be done to those kids so they know that's not okay and justice to be served for this man," Marrero said.
Police say the victim was treated and released from the hospital for injuries he suffered during the attacks.
Police told NBC10 the families of the teens took them to their headquarters not to turn them in but to complain about the numerous phone calls, texts and negative social media messages they've received due to the videos.
The three teens will be arraigned in Family Court on the new charges and their bail will be reviewed. Police are withholding the names of the suspects since their cases remain in Delaware Family Court. They continue to investigate.
