Additional charges may be filed against a group of party-goers who allegedly videotaped a hate crime and uploaded the video to the Internet, Plano police said.
“This case is definitely still under investigation,” Plano Police Investigator Gene Morton said Friday, discussing the early December beating of a Plano man.
One man has already been charged with the crime, which Morton said was committed based on the victim’s sexual orientation.
According to Morton, a group of people were gathered on the 400 block of East Abe Street at the home of Dakota Malert on Dec. 5 when the incident occurred.
The victim, who was an acquaintance of Malert’s, was not seriously injured. He immediately reported the incident to police.
Five days later, on Dec. 10, Malert, 21, was charged with a felony hate crime and aggravated assault.
Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis said that although Malert was the only suspect alleged to have administered the beating, he might not be the only person to be charged in the incident.
“We’re not completely done with the investigation, otherwise we’d release more information” Morton said. “We haven’t even gotten to interview everyone involved.”
Weis called the crime “disturbing,” and said the hate crime aspect of the battery elevates the seriousness of the charge.
According to Illinois State statute, a hate crime is committed when someone batters, assaults or commits another crime against a person based on the victim’s perceived sexual orientation, race, color, creed, ancestry, religion, physical or mental disability without regard to any other factors.
Morton said that the motive for the beating was the victim’s perceived sexual orientation. He said information gathered during the investigation will help them prove Malert’s intent.
Morton said onlookers caught the incident on video, and that the video was uploaded to the Internet.
Malert’s bail was set at $200,000, which he posted following his arrest.
At the time of the alleged assault, Malert was already facing misdemeanor battery charges for an incident that occurred at his Plano home in November.