DETROIT — A 43-year-old white man has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime after a Black teen was attacked in a southeastern Michigan park and hit in the face with a bicycle lock.
The U.S. Attorney's office says Lee Mouat is expected to be sentenced June 24 after entering the plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Mouat last June confronted a group of Black teens at Sterling State Park beach in Monroe County's Frenchtown Township, about 39 miles southwest of Detroit.
Authorities say he repeatedly used racial slurs and said Black people had no right to use the beach before striking Devin Freelon Jr. and attempting to hit another teen.
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