Dec 30, 2007 6:28 pm US/Eastern
Bus Beating Not Being Considered A Hate Crime
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
A woman was brutally beaten on a MTA bus by a group of teens, and now the controversial case is taking another dramatic turn.
Peggy Lee reports prosecutors will not be charging the teens with a hate crime.
They say in order to do that, you need to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt race was the motivation.
The face of Sarah Kreager was left broken, bruised and swollen after an alleged attack on a Baltimore City bus on Dec. 4.
The city was shocked to learn those arrested and accused were nine teens from Robert Poole Middle School The fact that all the defendants were black and the victim white had MTA officials investigating the possibility of charging them with a hate crime.
Now the city's State's Attorney's Office says that's no longer on the table.
"In any case, in order to charge a hate crime, there would need to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt that could be presented to a jury that there was a conspiracy to injure someone or harm someone as a result of their race, their age or their religious beliefs " said Margaret Burns with the City Prosecutor's Office.
According to investigators, the attack happened as the bus traveled in the 800-block of West 33rd Street.
As Kreager searched for a seat, one of the teens continued to jump in front of her telling her the seats were taken.
When she finally sat down, that's when the teens, all 14 or 15-years-old, reportedly attacked Kreager and her boyfriend, Troy Ellis.
Prosecutors say while they won't be charging the teens with a hate crime, they are adding other additional violations.
"I can confirm that the charging process is complete, and the case is ready to go forward," said Burns.
The teens are already charged with aggravated assault and destruction of property.
The two new charges include malicious destruction of property and disorderly conduct.
The next hearing for the teens will be held on Jan. 4.
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