02/11/2003

Associated Press

WENATCHEE, Wash. - Two teenagers arrested in an assault on a jogger could be charged under the state's hate crimes law because the man appears to have been targeted because he is disabled, a Chelan County prosecutor said.

The attackers videotaped the beating Sunday, and the tape shows the jogger wearing ribbons with the Special Olympics logo, said Deputy Prosecutor Edward Stevensen.

"They were picking on a person who it's clear to me has some mental disability," Stevensen said. "I would call it classic bullying behavior."

The two boys, 16 and 17, both of East Wenatchee, were arrested Sunday afternoon after chasing the 42-year-old jogger on their bikes from Pioneer Park here.

When the runner tripped, the 16-year-old attacked - kicking and punching the man - while the 17-year-old filmed the beating, Stevensen said.

The jogger told police that he had been harassed by people in the park before.

"From the tape it would appear they recognized him as he ran by," Stevensen said.

The jogger was scraped and bruised but did not require hospitalization.

No charges have been filed against the teenagers yet. Chelan County Juvenile Court Commissioner Bart Vandegrift on Monday set bail at $2,500 for the 16-year-old and $1,500 for the 17-year-old.

A charge of malicious harassment, commonly known as a hate crime, is used in cases where an attack is based on the victim's perceived race, gender or sexual orientation, or a physical or mental disability.