Staten Island Teens Charged With Hate Crime for Attacking Muslim Classmate Over Faith

Four Staten Island teens are facing hate-crime charges for taunting a Muslim classmate because of his faith, calling him a “terrorist” and repeatedly punching him in the genitals, cops said Monday.

“They took advantage of me because I was quiet,” the 16-year-old-victim, whose first name is Kristian, told the Staten Island Advance, which first reported the story of the abuse.

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Police said the four Staten Island boys–three 14-year-olds who are Latino and a 15-year-old who is black–were collared Sunday night on charges of assault and aggravated harassment, both as hate crimes. They are being charged as minors, and police did not release their names.

The teens tormented Kristian, whose family is from Trinidad, over a months-long period while they were classmates at Intermediate School 51 on Staten Island, police said.

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