3 teens arraigned on hate crime charges after alleged MBTA assault
Three teens were arraigned on hate crime charges after allegedly harassing and assaulting a woman they believed was an immigrant on an MBTA train earlier this month, the Suffolk District Attorney’s office said in a statement Thursday.Two 15-year-old females from Mattapan and Dorchester were arraigned on November 9, and another 15-year-old female, of Dorchester, was arraigned Monday. They were charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and civil rights violation causing injury before being released to their parents’ custody, according to the statement.The three juveniles were ordered to stay away from one another, the victim, and witnesses. The DA’s office said the victim’s name and personal information were also ordered to be protected from the teens.Around 7:40 a.m. on November 7, a 49-year-old woman boarded a Red Line train at Savin Hill station. The teens allegedly began to verbally harass her, mocking her accent and English proficiency and telling her to “go back to her own country.”The group then allegedly blocked the woman to prevent her from moving when she tried to leave her seat. The DA’s office said one of the teens allegedly punched and hit the victim repeatedly in the face with a cell phone.A witness pressed the train’s emergency call button at Andrew station to report the attack. Transit Police responded to the scene and spoke to witnesses, one of whom said the teens were “celebrating” once they exited the train, according to authorities.A photo taken by a witness was provided to the officers, who were able to identify the teens after showing it to Boston Public School officials, the DA’s office said.“The immigrant experience is encoded in our nation’s DNA,” said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley. “We want to make sure that everyone feels safe and secure, no matter who they are, where they’re from, how they speak, or how they define their families. There’s no room for behavior like this—period.”The teens are due back in court November 30, according to authorities.
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