As the attack on an intellectually-challenged young man continued to generate strong reaction from viewers of an online video, State Representative Jim Struzzi has thrown his support behind a bill to classify such assaults as hate crimes.
Under current state law, there is no way to classify crimes against people with mental disabilities to a higher level of offense, but a bill authored by Chester County Representative Kristine Howard would add “intellectual or physical disability” to the list of elements prosecutors can use to consider hate crime charges.
Struzzi says the mental and emotional anguish the family of the young man is going through is unimaginable. Struzzi has signed on as a co-sponsor of Howard’s bill, which is now before the House Judiciary Committee.
Meanwhile, a Facebook post from the Plumville Fire Department says one of the suspects in the assault, 18-year-old Cory Blystone of Sagamore, has been terminated from its roster of firefighters and is no longer welcome at the fire department. Blystone was a new member. The fire department says it never has, nor ever will condone behavior such as that of the defendants and they pray for the victim as he recovers.
Blystone, 19-year-old Jordan Kinney of Indiana, 20-year-old Dakota Patterson of Indiana, and 19-year-old Katelyn Lemley of Homer City are all scheduled for preliminary hearings on September 12th before District Judge Guy Haberl.
The attack took place on a walking and biking trail that runs through Homer City called the Hoodlebug Trail.
