4 Kentucky teens who brutally assaulted autistic 17-year-old and left him in a pool of blood with a broken jaw arrested and charged
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: Four Kentucky teens have been arrested and charged after they brutally beat an autistic school mate and left him in a pool of blood.
The horrific incident unfolded at the Iroquois High School, according to Lexington Herald-Leader, with court documents stating that three students followed the victim, a 17-year-old, into a bathroom while a fourth stood guard at the door.
The trio then threw the victim's phone down and beat him with their hands and feet until he was knocked unconscious, with another student later finding him lying on the floor in a pool of his blood.
Emergency medical services were called to the scene who transported the teen to the Kosair Children's Hospital, where he had to undergo surgery to repair a fractured jaw which had several teeth knocked loose because of the assault.
The 17-year-old's mother said her son was just a senior who "does what he's supposed to do" and said he was "not doing good mentally and physically" since the attack.
His sister, Courtney Damron, similarly told WAVE3 she doesn't understand why he was attacked. "He's a really good kid," she said. "He's on the autism spectrum. He doesn't bother anybody."
"He doesn't have anything but a phone," she continued. "He doesn't have a job; he doesn't have any money. He's 17. So, when he gave them his phone, they smashed it, hit him once, knocked him out and then kept hitting him. And now he's got a broken jaw."
Authorities arrested 18-year-old Damon Simmons in connection to the incident and charged him with second-degree assault and second-degree criminal mischief. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held by the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections on a $25,000 bond.
The other alleged assailants, who are all juveniles, are facing charges of first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and second-degree assault, all of which are felonies, according to a spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
In a court filing, a sheriff's deputy said that the "defendants were strangers to the victim".