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White teen pleads guilty to trying to drown Black youth at Chatham pond in 2023
Facing charges of attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon, John Sheeran entered his guilty plea last month.
A white teen has pleaded guilty after prosecutors accused him of trying to drown a Black boy in a racially motivated attack on Cape Cod in 2023.
Facing charges of attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon, John Sheeran entered his guilty plea on Dec. 13, the Barnstable Juvenile Court clerk’s office said. Sheeran, 15, was charged as a youthful offender, meaning his case is open to the public and a judge may sentence him as a juvenile or as an adult.
He is due for sentencing Feb. 5, the clerk’s office confirmed. Boston.com has reached out to his attorneys for comment.
Previously:
The charges stem from a July 19, 2023, incident at Chatham’s Goose Pond involving Sheeran, another boy, and the Black teen. The three boys met up at the pond, where Sheeran allegedly picked up a stone and threatened the Black teen, using a racial slur, the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office said in a 2023 press release.
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Before entering the water, the victim put on a life jacket and told the other boys he could not swim, according to the press release. Sheeran allegedly proceeded to pull the boy underwater by his life jacket, dragging him under the surface four to five times, prosecutors said.
As the victim struggled to breathe, the third teen allegedly laughed and referred to him as George Floyd, a Black man murdered in Minneapolis by a police officer in 2020. Sheeran also swam beneath the boy and attempted to grab his feet to pull him underwater, prosecutors said.
“The incident concluded when the victim started yelling for someone on the beach to help,” the DA’s office said. “A bystander entered the water and intervened, assisting the victim to the shore.”
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Following Sheeran’s indictment in 2023, defense attorney Kevin Reddington said the three boys were friends before the alleged attack.
“It’s just a sad situation,” he said at the time. “But I don’t see that there was any intent to murder the young man.”
According to the Cape Cod Chronicle, which first reported Sheeran’s guilty plea, the tender of plea filed with the court calls for a three-year suspended sentence for the attempted murder charge, plus 20 hours of monthly community service, an apology letter, continued therapy, and an “educational program” for the assault charge. The plea also bars Sheeran from having any contact with the victim, the news outlet reported.
Prosecutors have said the victim’s family supports the plea agreement, according to the Chronicle.
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