Attacker faces 8 years in prison; Victim thought he was a friend

From the [Minneapolis-St. Paul] Star Tribune, KSTP-TV [ABC affiliate in Minneapolis-St. Paul], St. Paul Pioneer Press:

A 20-year-old Minnesota man, described by officials as a member of the Minnesota National Guard, has pleaded guilty to his role in the brutal assault and torture of a young adult with intellectual disabilities.

John M. Maniglia pleaded guilty on Tuesday to third-degree assault, kidnapping and theft in the brutal group beating of Justin Hamilton, 24. He faces eight years in prison. Prosecutors dropped seven other charges in exchange for the guilty pleas.

Hamilton told police he was driven to a rural area outside of Minneapolis where he was bound to a tree, burned with cigarettes and a heated credit card, kicked, and hit with a military-style baton by attackers he had thought were his friends. The attacks were carried out over two days.

Officials said they sought a plea arrangement in an effort to spare Hamilton from the additional trauma of testifying against his attackers. Hamlton’s mother said her son faces ongoing and debilitating emotional damage as a result of the torture.

“This is not your typical crime,” said Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom. “This is a series of crimes that took place over two nights against an extremely vulnerable person. This is a very violent attack on a vulnerable adult and it warrants a significant penalty.”

A 16-year-old girl has already pleaded guilty to four felonies in the case, and three more suspects await trial.

(Photos from KSTP-TV)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at 8:25 am and is filed under criminal justice, intellectual/developmental disabilities, NOT2BEMISSED. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.