Last year, several young men were caught on video and distributed by the popular website Worldstarhiphop.com brutally beating a gay man named Brandon White and shouting obscenities at him have been sentenced to federal prison today. Christopher Cain and Dorian Moragne, both of Atlanta, pleaded guilty today in federal court to beating White because of his sexual orientation, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said via an email to Hip Hop Enquirer.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: On February 4, 2012, Cain, 19, Moragne, 21, and a juvenile, all associated with the Jack City street gang, targeted a 20-year-old gay man as he left a grocery store located in Atlanta’s Pittsburgh neighborhood. Cain punched the victim in the head and pushed him to the ground. Cain, Moragne and the juvenile surrounded the victim and repeatedly punched and kicked him while the group yelled anti-gay epithets, including “No f****** in Jack City.” Moragne then picked up a tire and struck the victim with it. The group also stole the victim’s cell phone. A fourth person, also with the defendants, recorded the assault using a cell phone. The video footage was posted to the Internet.
“Violence against another person because of his or her sexual orientation has no place in our civilized society,” Yates said in an emailed statement. “The citizens of this district should know that we are committed to aggressively prosecuting hate crimes.” Stated Yates.
Initially the beating victim wasn’t going to report it because he stated he was embarrassed but once the video aired on Worldstarhiphop.com and went viral he stated he was compelled to come forward.
Moral of the story: If you decide to commit a crime and record it and then put it on the internet, be ready to have to answer for it at a later date. #SELFSNITCHING!
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