John R. K. Howard, the 19-year-old white man who was accused of assaulting a mentally disabled black teammate by shoving a coat hanger up his rectum will not receive any jail time after his sentencing Friday.
Howard had entered an “Alford plea,” meaning he maintained his innocence while admitting that a judge or jury would likely find him guilty. He did plead guilty to felony injury of a child and had originally faced a sexual assault charge as well. However, prosecutors claimed that while they could prove Howard kicked the coat hangar into his teammate’s rectum, they could not prove that it constituted a sex crime. District Judge Randy Stoker agreed to have the charge reduced to a lesser crime.
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In sentencing Friday, Judge Stoker not only declined to give Howard any jail time but also discounted testimony that racial language was used during the attack.
Advocates for the mentally disabled teen who was attacked see the lack of jail time for Howard as “a slap on the wrist for a privileged white teen who preyed on a disabled teammate from the only black family in town,” the Twin Falls Times-News wrote.
