Teens accused of
Wisconsin hate crime

Four teens from suburban Chicago face felony hate-crimes charges, as they are accused of shouting slurs at a gay University of Wisconsin-Madison student and vandalizing his property, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday. According to police, the teens had been drinking on the night of December 21 when they gathered outside the dorm room of a gay student who serves as a liaison for the university's housing system. They began shouting antigay slurs and expletives. Then someone tore down photos of gay couples and posters promoting the LGBT campus center, the newspaper reported. Another person wrote an antigay statement on a bulletin board outside the room. No one was hurt, but the "nature of the attack and the fact that it was directed at a student based on his sexual orientation prompted Dane County, Wis., prosecutors to elevate misdemeanor disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property charges to felony hate crimes," according to the Tribune. "The fact that they went back to the room three times [that night], that says a lot," UW-Madison police detective Carol Ann Glassmaker told the newspaper. "They were truly victimizing this person." The teens were identified as: Caleb M. Moore, 18; Michael D. Riha, 19; Kevin R. Sochacki, 18; and Benjamin T. Chamberlain, 19. All four are free on bail and are scheduled to appear in court February 13. The men's lawyers deny that their clients are antigay, the Tribune reported. "This is a blatant case of hitting a mosquito with a concrete brick. This is as overcharged a case as I've ever seen," said Stephen Meyer, who represents Moore. Glassmaker, however, said the gay student was traumatized by the attack. "He was very nervous and very scared," she said. (Advocate.com)