Autistic teen beaten and burned with cigarettes by three teens who posted the video online
- Three young men are being charged with beating a local autistic teenager and burning his hair last fall
- Paul Dustin, 18, Israel ‘Izzy’ Junior Rivera, 18, and Brandon Lemieux, 19, all of Seabrook, New Hampshire restrained him, punched him and spat at him
- The alleged assault continued over the course of two hours
Three New Hampshire teenagers have have been indicted in a disturbing attack on a fellow teen who was autistic.
Israel Junior Rivera, Paul Dustin and Brandon Lemieux, who are all 19-years-old, were indicted for the incident that allegedly happened in Seabrook back in October.
The victim was beaten before being burned with cigarettes and spat on. Video of the incident was then posted to Snapchat.
Israel Junior Rivera, left, and Brandon Lemieux, right, both 19, from New Hampshire have been indicted in a disturbing attack on another teenager who has autism
Paul Dustin, also 19, was indicted for the incident that allegedly happened in Seabrook back in October
Court documents say Dustin and Lemieux punched the victim once each and that Rivera allegedly repeatedly kicked and punched him over two hours.
Prosecutors say the victim also had his hair burned.
‘For approximately two hours, I was at South Main Street being humiliated and physically and verbally abused and harassed,’ the teen wrote in his statement. He also told police many people there were recording the incident and posting it on the app Snapchat.
‘After that I was completely humiliated, most of the people at the house were spitting on me, physically abusing me, flicking ash in my hair, kicking me and making me admit crimes I did not commit,’ he told police.
Police allege the assailants were attempting to coerce the teen to admit to a crime he did not commit.
The victim told police he was left with ‘very sore’ ribs and stomach, showing an officer that he had bruising on his stomach and swelling on his torso when he went to report the assault.
The officer wrote he advised the teen to stop associating with his assailants. The officer then spoke with a witness who showed video footage of the assault, leading to the charges.
It’s alleged Rivera demanded during the 18-year-old autistic teen was being pressured into admitting smashing an acquaintance’s car with cinder blocks which Rivera had previously done a month earlier. The victim had said he was with Rivera the night the car was vandalized.
Rivera faces counts of criminal mischief, criminal restraint and witness tampering stemming from the assault as well as the damage to the car, according to WCVB.
Dustin and Lemieux each face one charge of criminal restraint. The charges the three face are Class B felonies, each carrying a sentence of 3½ to 7 years if the suspects are convicted.