Jewish & Hispanic student plead guilty after being caught attempting "hate crime

[MikeWB]

Ex-NU students plead guilty to lesser charges in chapel vandalism



Former Northwestern University students Anthony Morales, 19, left, and Matthew Kafker, 18, pleaded guilty on Nov. 21, 2016, to lesser vandalism charges after admitting to spray-painting racist and homophobic slurs at Alice Millar Chapel in Evanston. They had been charged with hate crimes.. (Cook County sheriff's office / Handout)

Two former Northwestern University students apologized and pleaded guilty to vandalizing a chapel on campus, avoiding jail time but agreeing to pay thousands of dollars in fines and restitution.

Anthony Morales, 19, and Matthew Kafker, 18, were both freshmen last spring when they were charged with hate crimes for allegedly spray-painting racist and homophobic slurs, along with the word "Trump," inside Alice Millar Chapel on Sheridan Road in Evanston.

The hate crime charges and other felonies were dropped Monday in exchange for the men's guilty pleas to misdemeanor criminal damage to property in Cook County court.

The men were sentenced to two years of court supervision and 150 hours of community service and must each pay $7,790 to cover the cost of the repairs to the chapel, plus almost $300 each in court costs and fines.

Morales' attorney previously told the court that Morales had entered an outpatient rehabilitation program for alcohol-related issues.

Authorities said chapel staff members discovered the graffiti when they arrived on the morning of March 12. The damage included a swastika, slurs against gays and African-Americans and the word "Trump" written on walls, as well as spray-painted images of male genitals throughout the chapel, officials said. Lines were also spray-painted over the faces of Muslim students in photographs.

Attorneys for both men said on Monday that the pair were very drunk when they committed the crime and that both were also very remorseful.

"I am very sorry," Kafker told Cook County Circuit Court Judge Lauren Edidin before she passed down the sentence. "I apologize to the entire Northwestern community and everybody who was hurt by what I did."

Morales offered a similar apology adding: "I had to own up to this."

The two men could have been facing jail time if the felony charges against them had not been dropped in exchange for the pleas. Prosecutors on Monday said the decision to offer a plea deal was driven in part by the fact that friends and family of both men wrote letters to the court asking for leniency, there was a lack of premeditation in the crime, no one was injured and neither of the men had any criminal background.

"A clear message has been sent," said supervising State's Attorney Robert Heilingoetter. "Such behavior will not be tolerated."

Edidin told both the defendants that they should be thankful that they were not convicted of more serious crimes and that she hoped they would stay out of trouble and away from alcohol.

"You're both young, but sometimes I have seen and learned that things happen for a reason," Edidin said. "Alcohol can be a very dangerous thing for some people. It can completely change your personality."

The judge added that the plea deals are "giving you the opportunity to do anything you want to do in the future."

The men are no longer enrolled at Northwestern, university officials have previously confirmed. It was earlier revealed in court that Kafker is the son of Scott Kafker, chief justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.