Each year, the FBI puts together a report on crime statistics and one of their reports focuses on hate crimes in the United States. In 2106, the FBI reported that there were 6,121 hate crime incidents that took place in the U.S., with over half of those incidents stemming from racial or ethnic bias. About half of all racially or ethnically based hate crimes were those that were anti-black or African American. The prevalence of hate crimes has risen by a significant amount in the past few years and recently, a Chicago man was arrested on charges of drawing swastikas on buildings.

Chicago Man Charged with Felony Hate Crimes

A 51-year-old man has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of hate crimes after the man is alleged to have drawn swastikas on multiple homes on the North Side. The man is being charged with two felony counts of hate crimes, along with three misdemeanor counts of criminal defacing of property. Chicago police say that the man was identified on home security video footage showing him using chalk to draw swastikas on garages and fences.

Illinois Hate Crime Laws

In Illinois, a hate crime is defined as any crime that is committed due to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of another person or a group of people. Hate crimes can include assault, battery, stalking, intimidation, theft, damage to property, trespassing, and others. A hate crime is a Class 4 felony for a first offense and a Class 2 felony for a second offense. A first-offense hate crime can be classified as a Class 3 felony if it is committed on the grounds of a religious institution, a cemetery, a school, a public park or any public property within 1,000 feet of any aforesaid locations.

Being accused of a sex crime can be stressful and emotionally tolling for you, your friends and your family. Whether the accusation is true or not, being accused of a sex crime can not only cause problems between relationships with people in your life, but it can also cause problems at work or getting future jobs. Understanding common defenses to sex crimes can prepare you if you are facing these types of charges.

Innocence

One of the most common defenses to sex crimes is innocence, meaning that you are pleading that you did not commit the crime. This is perhaps the most basic defense in sexual assault cases. The defendant can argue that they couldn’t have committed the crime because they were in a different place at the time the crime was committed. This is called an alibi and must be supported by credible evidence that they could not have possibly committed the crime.

In popular culture, the crimes of assault and battery have acquired numerous meanings that are not entirely in keeping with the actual nature of the offenses themselves. This can cause potential problems when one is accused of such an offense and is not entirely sure what specific acts they are being accused of committing. If this situation ever arises in your life, it can be extremely helpful to know exactly what such an accusation includes and what it does not.

Definitions

The popular perception of assault is that it involves unwanted physical contact with a second person. This, however, misstates several aspects of the legal definition. Assault in Illinois is defined as a person engaging in a course of action “which places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery.” In other words, one need not even touch another to commit assault against him or her. The crux of the issue is the fear that the victim is made to feel, whether it is subjective or not.

If you have been charged with any type of crime that may require you to register as a sex offender, you should understand what sex offender registration entails. Because registration is required for at least 10 years, and possibly for the remainder of the offender’s life, many people convicted of a sex offense believe that registration is the most onerous part of their sentence.

Convictions That Require Registration

Anyone convicted of a crime that Illinois law lists as a sex offense is considered a sex offender. All convicted sex offenders must register with the state’s Sex Offender Registry. Offenses that require registration upon conviction include: