Press Release
Pennsylvania Man Indicted for Hate Crime Assault
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on a charge of violating the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Jeffrey Allen Burgess, 54, was charged in a one-count indictment. According to the indictment, on or about Nov. 22, 2016, Burgess is alleged to have violated the Matthew Shepard and James Bryd Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act by willfully causing bodily injury to A.M. because of A.M.’s perceived race, color, and national origin.
If convicted, Burgess faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
The FBI and the Bethel Park Police Department are investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cindy K. Chung and Rachael L. Dizard and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Tona Boyd are prosecuting this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Updated March 20, 2017
Topic
Hate Crimes
Component