2 plead guilty to hate crime in beating of gay man

Thursday, April 18, 2013

ATLANTA - Two Atlanta men have pleaded guilty to beating a man because of his sexual orientation as he left a grocery store.

Federal prosecutors say Christopher Cain and Dorian Moragne pleaded guilty Thursday. Prosecutors say it was the first case in Georgia to charge a violation of the sexual orientation section of the federal hate crimes law.

Prosecutors say Cain, Moragne and a juvenile targeted the gay man in February 2012. Prosecutors say Cain punched the victim in the head and pushed him to the ground. All three surrounded him, repeatedly punched and kicked him and yelled anti-gay slurs.

Video of the beating was posted online.

All three were sentenced last year in Fulton County Superior Court to five years in jail on charges that did not include a hate crime.