(WXYZ) — A Monroe County man has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime for attacking a Black teenager last summer.
Lee Mouat, 43, from Newport, confronted a group of Black teenagers at Sterling State Park in Monroe in June 2020.
During the confrontation, Mouat used racial slurs and said Black people had no right to use the public beach.
He then hit one of the teens in the face with a bike lock, knocking out several of his teeth, cutting his face and mouth, and fracturing his jaw. Mouat also tried to hit another teen.
“Hate-fueled incidents like this one have no place in a civilized society,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela Karlan for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to using all the tools in our law enforcement arsenal to prosecute violent acts motivated by hate.”
“Mouat’s hateful and violent conduct, motivated by racial intolerance, was intended to physically harm the victim as well as create fear within the African-American community,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy Waters of the FBI’s Detroit Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to ensure that if a crime is motivated by bias, it will be investigated as a hate crime and the perpetrators will be held responsible for their actions. We encourage anyone who has been the victim of or witness to such a crime to report it to the FBI.”
Mouat pleaded guilty to willfully causing bodily injury, and is expected to be sentenced for the crime on June 24. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
