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Man sentenced in beating of disabled teen streamed on Facebook Live

Posted at 6:41 PM, Jul 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-07 18:41:33-04

A man involved in the beating of a mentally disabled Chicago man that was streamed on Facebook Live pleaded guilty on Thursday, according the state’s attorney.

Jordan Hill, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated kidnapping and one count of a hate crime, according to Cook County state’s attorney Tandra Simonton. Both crimes are felonies. He was sentenced to eight years in prison, Simonton said.

Hill and three other suspects — Tesafaye Cooper, Brittany Covington and Tanishia Covington — were charged in early 2017 after they livestreamed video of the torture of a special-needs teen on Facebook.

The video showed the 18-year-old cowering in the corner of a room with his mouth bound in plastic. For more than 25 minutes, his attackers kicked and punched him, ignoring his screams. The assailants also made references to Donald Trump and white people while carrying out the attack.

The victim was tied up for four or five hours, according to police.

The video also raised ethical questions for Facebook and its platform’s livestreaming capabilities. The social media network took the video down from one of the suspect’s profiles.

Hill is the third of the four co-defendants to be sentenced. According to CNN affiliate WBBM, Brittany and Tanishia Covington also pleaded guilty. Last year, Brittany Covington was sentenced to four years of probation, WBBM reported, and Tanishia Covington was sentenced to three years in prison in April.

CNN has reached out to an attorney for Hill for comment.