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by John Fedor
The Chittenden County State's Attorney's office has upgraded charges against a Burlington teenager to hate crime status.
Chittenden County Prosecutor Carolyn Hanson said, "The juvenile victim was being called a number of names, derogatory names for homosexual, and that would prompt us to look further to see if it is in fact hate motivated."
Lance Curavoo, 17, allegedly assaulted a 15-year-old sophomore boy in November. He was initially charged with simple assault and pleaded not guilty before the charge was elevated.
The charge stems from a series of violent incidents among students at Burlington High School. This one occurred on Church Street in Burlington, when a group of students began to taunt the victim and call him names. Police say the group held him against a wall while one punched him repeatedly in the face, leaving the victim bloody and bruised.
The victim believes he was attacked because of the way he dresses. He fears for his life and his mother says she won't allow him to go back to school.
Neither defense attorney David Nicholson nor prosecutor Rosemary Gretkowski would comment on the case.
The Vermont District Court has scheduled Curavoo's hearing for January 13th.
Curavoo could face expulsion from school in addition to stiffer legal penalties if convicted on the elevated charges. The maximum fine in the case doubles from $1,000 to $2,000 and the maximum jail sentence increases from one year to two.
