DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. ā Broward County deputies arrested two teenagers seen on video brutally attacking an LGBTQ teen at a neighborhood park, officials said Wednesday.
Itās unclear if a third teenager seen on the video will face charges.
Itās the second time 14-year-old Chad Sanford, who no longer attends the school, was attacked. In 2021, Sanford made national headlines after being attacked and slammed to the ground by a group of older kids at Deerfield Beach Middle School as others just watched.
In the most recent attack, Chad received an invite to hang out with a group of young people thought to be friends.
āThey came behind me and jumped me,ā said Chad, who added that the assailants said, āDonāt come around me with that gay (expletive).ā
Chadās grandmother, who asked for her identity to be protected, said the past year hasnāt been easy.
āJust let Chad be Chad,ā she said. āGuys was spitting on him on the bus and treating him any kind of way because of his transgender and life of what he want to be. Iām just frustrated.ā
Deputies said the two teens were being charged with battery and a crime of prejudice under Florida law, both misdemeanors.
āI am utterly heartbroken, angry and devastated,ā attorney Melba Pearson, a former prosecutor who know works for FIUās Center for Administration of Justice, said.
Pearson said the case should be ā150 percentā charged as a hate crime. But she says she doesnāt think incarceration will solve the issue.
āI think that they need counseling. I think that they need to be held accountable, whether it be (through) community service, other aspects, but they need to learn that this behavior is wrong, because they were taught this somehow,ā she said. āThey didnāt just wake up one day and decide to attack someone because theyāre transgender.ā
If the two teenagers were charged with a federal hate crime, they could receive up to five years in prison.