Pair charged with hate crime in attack on lesbian at McDonald's in Carpentersville, Illinois
John Kammrad, 19, has been charged with three counts of aggravated battery, one count of hate crime, and one count of mob action, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's office. A 16-year-old boy also has been charged with hate crime, mob action, and aggravated battery. His name was not released because he is a juvenile.
Kady Grass, who is from Carpentersville but now lives in Wisconsin, has said she was visiting the McDonald's at 1660 S. Kennedy Dr. in Carpentersville with her 13-year-old cousin on May 13, after the teen's choir concert.
She said a group of strangers started harassing her as she left the restroom — using anti-gay slurs toward her.
When she walked away, she said they followed.
"I just told my cousin to look forward. 'Don't say anything. Don't give them a reason to talk to us again,'" said Grass.
Grass acknowledges she then told the strangers she is a lesbian and flicked her wrist at them. Police said witnesses and surveillance video show two people attacked her.
Prosecutors said Kammrad and a 16-year-old accomplice beat Grass and kicked her in the head.
Grass was left with a fractured nose, a hemorrhage on her eye, and PTSD after the attack.
"I genuinely think that their plan was to kill me, and that they didn't care if they ended my life that day," Grass said.
Kammrad originally was charged only with two counts of aggravated battery and one count of mob action when he was arrested last week, but Grass had called for hate crime charges to be added.
"How it started was because I'm a lesbian — just because I walked into the woman's bathroom, and I looked the way I look," Grass said.
Last week, Kane County prosecutors confirmed they were still weighing possible hate crime charges.
"Like all cases we handle, my office filed these charges following a thorough investigation and an unbiased review of the facts. These allegations are serious and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Kane County State's Attorney Jamie Mosser said in a statement on Tuesday. "Everyone deserves to feel safe in public spaces, and no one should be attacked because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, as is alleged in this case. We must make it clear that Kane County is a community that welcomes all."
Kammrad is being held at the DuPage County Jail on separate charges in DuPage County, and is due back in court in Kane County on June 27.
The video above is from an earlier report.
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