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Hate crime against Christian a first By Dan Wilson Post-Crescent staff writer
In a case believed to be a first of its kind since the inception of the Wisconsin hate crimes law, three area young men have been charged with a hate crime for singling out a Christian.
Daniel C. Lewis, 18, N529 Klemp Road, Fremont, is facing trial Feb. 7 on a felony charge of using mace against another person and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. Both carry the hate crime penalty enhancer for a maximum of three years' incarceration.
Two alleged accomplices, Sam R. Chartier II, 17, Larsen, and Patrick B. Corey, 17, 709 Violet Lane, Little Chute, have already been charged with misdemeanor offenses and convicted of using mace in a hate crime.
According to the criminal complaint, the three were driving in the Kaukauna area early Sept. 16.
Lewis carried a can of pepper spray and the three were looking for a victim. They stopped at two houses and knocked on doors, but no one answered.
They drove around some more until they found a house with a sign in the front yard which stated: "You think you got it all? Got Jesus?"
According to the complaint, Lewis told the others he would pepper spray the occupant of that house because "he was sick of all the Christian religious talk and how he was raised by his parents."
He also said the victim would probably be forgiving because of his or her Christian beliefs, the complaint said.
Corey was quoted as saying he and Lewis approached the Kaukauna home about 6 a.m. and knocked on the front door. When a man answered, Lewis allegedly yelled, "Jesus is a fag," and pepper-sprayed the man in the face. They then ran to the car where Chartier was waiting and fled.
The victim told police he answered a loud pounding on the front door to find two young men wearing dark clothing, necklaces and what appeared to be a Satanic symbol on the person described as Lewis.
The victim alleges Lewis said, "Satan rules, Jesus will not prevail," and sprayed him in the face.
The victim said he experienced an "unbearable burning to his eyes and face."
He yelled to his wife to call 911 and Kaukauna police arrived within minutes.
According to Lt. Kevin Shepardson of the Kaukauna Police Department, investigators canvassed the neighborhood, which included a local residence known to be frequented by young people the night before the incident.
"We obtained some information from these kids and this led to a series of interviews with other kids who knew the suspects," said Shepardson.
Lewis was arrested a few days later and the other two shortly after that.
On Dec. 20, Chartier was convicted of being a party to the use of mace as a hate crime. He was placed on probation for two years and ordered to pay $70 in court costs by Outagamie County Circuit Judge John Des Jardins.
Des Jardins also sentenced Chartier to 15 days in jail, but provided an alternative which he could use to lop seven days off the sentence.
Des Jardins gave Chartier the option of wearing a sign stating, "I'm convicted of a hate crime against a Christian," which Chartier accepted.
He wore the sign on Dec. 27 from noon to 1 p.m. at the corner of Oneida Street and Prospect Avenue in Appleton and 1 to 5 p.m. in front of the nearby Outagamie County Justice Center.
Corey was convicted of a similar charge on Nov. 14 by Judge Dee Dyer, who placed him on probation for one year, assessed $70 in court costs and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service. The sentence will be removed from Corey's record after one year.
According to the Office of Justice Assistance, a division of the Wisconsin Department of Administration, this case appears to be the first since the hate crime statute was passed in 1991 where the victim was singled out because of his or her Christian beliefs.
The OJA tracks all state hate crime incidents for statistical reasons. Those statistics include the reason the victim was targeted.
According to Tom Everson, coordinator of the crime reporting program, from 1991 to 1999, there were 27 incidents of hate crime in which the victims were targeted because of their religious beliefs. Of those 27 incidents, 22 were Jewish victims, one was Muslim and four categorized as other.
The state hate crime statute extends to race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation.
Wisconsin averages about 50 hate crimes per year.
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