United States / 04-09-2010
USA - Teenagers read Rosh Hashanah essays for ransacking Jewish bungalows
Four teens apologized and read essays on the meaning of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah before they were sentenced in Sullivan County Court for ransacking a Jewish bungalow colony in April and spray painting gang graffiti, a swastika and spelling out “Hitler.”
Daniel Anderson, 19; Travis Beaupierre, 16; Malik Keith, 18; and Daemion Cameron, 19; previously pleaded guilty to burglary and served their jail time. They were formally sentenced to six months in jail and 500 hours of community service. Keith and Beaupierre were sentenced as youthful offenders.
A fifth teen, Dishawn Terry, 16, will be sentenced later this month and will also have to read an essay. Judge Frank LaBuda made them write essays as a condition of their plea agreements and he timed the sentence to fall around the date of Rosh Hashanah, which is commonly known as the Jewish New Year.
While the boys have all had previous run-ins with the law, none of the teens, who are all minorities, has ever been involved in a hate crime. The motive was burglary. The boys will also have to pay several thousand in restitution. They have also offered to help the owner clean up the property.
