CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago-area man who was the alleged ringleader in the beating of a mentally disabled teenager that was livestreamed on Facebook has pleaded guilty to a hate crime and sentenced to eight years in prison.
The Chicago Tribune reports 20-year-old Jordan Hill of Carpentersville became the third of the four defendants to admit taking part in the attack when he entered the plea in a Cook County courtroom Thursday. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping.
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The January 2017 incident received national attention because it involved a white victim and four African-Americans who taunted the bound-and-gagged teen with profanities against white people.
Prosecutors say Hill - a friend of the 18-year-old victim - took the teen to a Chicago apartment where the attack took place.
Prosecutors said the alleged actions began under the guise of a sleepover with one Hill on New Year's Eve. His family became concerned when they lost contact two days later. According to prosecutors, Hill beat the victim in a van and brought him to an apartment on Chicago's West Side when the torment continued.
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"A male shoves the victim's face into a toilet bowl and the victim is told to drink toilet water. The victim is punched in the head. The victim is screaming 'no' in fear when the male walks over to him with a knife and states, 'Should I shank his a**?' Also heard on the video multiple times is a male voice threatening to kill the victim," said Asst. State's Attorney Erin Antonietti.
Police said his beating and torture went on for hours. The disturbing video, which was viewed by people across the country, has been removed from Facebook.
WLS-TV contributed to this report
From left to right: Brittany Covington, 18; Jordan Hill, 18; Tanishia Covington, 24; Tesfaye Cooper, 18. (Chicago Police Dept.)