4 teens indicted in "reprehensible" beating of man with special needs in Massachusetts
DANVERS - Four teenagers accused of beating up a man with special needs in Danvers, Massachusetts last month have been indicted.
Six accused in attack
The Essex District Attorney's Office said two other children who are under the age of 14 were also involved in the attack on 43-year-old Chris Anderson on the afternoon of Saturday, October 12.
Prosecutors say the six kids lured Anderson into the woods behind the Holten Richmond Middle School, threw a bike on him and kicked him. Anderson ended up with two fractured ribs.
"Scared to death"
"I was scared to death of them, those kids," Anderson told the Danvers Select Board meeting three days after the attack. "It just breaks my heart every day."
Anderson lives with his parents in Danvers. His mother said the kids had taunted him in the past.
"I am sick to death of it and then when they go and damn near kill my son who wouldn't hurt a flea. I have had it right up to here and I want something done about them," his mother, Antoinette Anderson, told the board.
One teen was arrested six days after the attack. On Monday, four were indicted by a grand jury. They were 14 and 15 years old.
Two children not indicted
Police issued warrants for the two other children. The D.A. said Massachusetts law prevents them from indicting anyone under the age of 14.
"From the onset of this investigation, detectives and school resource officers from the Danvers Police Department worked closely with our office to identify and hold accountable those involved in this reprehensible act of violence on a vulnerable member of the Danvers community," Essex D.A. Paul Tucker said in a statement.