Spaulding son is convicted of assault, not rights violation
A white man accused of beating two black teenagers in what prosecutors said was a racially motivated attack was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon yesterday, but was found not guilty of civil or constitutional rights violations.
The defendant, Josiah Spaulding III, 26, stood in Suffolk Superior Court as a clerk read Judge Charles T. Spurlock's decision.
Spurlock, who did not address the courtroom, ordered Spaulding's bail revoked and sent him to Bridgewater State Hospital for 40 days of evaluation. Spaulding is expected back in court for sentencing on Aug. 25.
He was accused of shouting racial slurs as he beat the teenagers in a co ncourse between the Park Street MBTA station and Downtown Crossing in November 2002. Prosecutors said Spaulding had participated in a group that racially taunted teens.
The two victims were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.
After a trip to Amsterdam, Spaulding turned himself in to police in February 2003.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
An assistant district attorney, David Fredette, said in a statement ``that the circumstances of this case warranted additional convictions, but we respect Judge Spurlock's decision and his consideration of the facts."
The maximum sentence for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon is 10 years in prison; the minimum sentence is probation, according to the Suffolk district attorney's office.
Spaulding's lawyer, Thomas Hoopes, declined to comment.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Spaulding was a ``skinhead." MBTA police found a large collection of Nazi paraphernalia, a receipt for the metal baton used in the attack, and handwritten hate messages in a storage space leased by Spaulding.
But Hoopes argued that Spaulding was defending his girlfriend, who, he said, was being beaten by one of the black teenagers. And Spaulding never uttered a racial epithet during the confrontation, Hoopes said.
Defense lawyers said Spaulding has mental health issues.
Josiah Spaulding Jr., the defendant's father, who is president of the Wang Center, sat in the back of the courtroom.
An unidentified woman answering the telephone at the home of the defendant's father refused to comment. Messages that were left seeking comment on the matter were not returned.
The victims, who were in court yesterday, did not want to address the court or speak with media. Fredette told the judge yesterday that one of the victims had moved to Florida, apparently because of the attack.
``She has had nightmares," he said. ``She still thinks about this incident; it still affects her greatly."
(Correction: Because of a reporting error, a quote in a story about the assault and battery conviction of Josiah Spaulding III in yesterday's City & Region section should have been attributed to a statement issued by Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, not a statement by assistant district attorney David Fredette.)
