A white man who punched a younger Black boy within the face in a racially motivated assault final summer time has been sentenced to greater than three years in jail after pleading responsible to felony expenses, together with a hate crime.
Paul Jonathan Bittner, 43, pleaded responsible to second-degree assault of a kid and fee of a hate crime, in accordance with The Bellingham Herald, following an assault he dedicated on June 12, 2024, in Bellingham, Washington.
Authorities say Bittner, who’s white, began strolling alongside a gaggle of scholars and lecturers from Whatcom Center Faculty who had simply completed a area journey in downtown Bellingham.
Based on courtroom paperwork, he walked immediately in entrance of an 11-year-old Black pupil, then abruptly rotated and punched him within the face, chipping the boy’s tooth within the course of.
He then allegedly requested the kid, “Are you going to speak to a white man like that?” The boy informed police that he believed Bittner focused him due to his race.
After Bittner was taken into custody, he continued making racist remarks, repeatedly used the N-word and made references to assaulting Black folks.
He initially pleaded not responsible to the costs he confronted.
In August 2024, a decide decided he was not competent to face trial after he underwent a competency analysis wherein a physician recognized him with bipolar-type schizoaffective dysfunction.
He was ordered to obtain 90 days of inpatient competency restoration remedy at a state psychiatric hospital. He spent greater than 5 months at Western State Hospital.
Senior Deputy Prosecuting Lawyer Benjamin Pratt stated Bittner confirmed a “considerably completely different temperament” throughout his sentencing listening to than he did initially following his arrest.
A decide sentenced Bittner to 41 months in jail, adopted by 18 months in group custody, a type of supervised launch wherein an offender should adhere to court-ordered circumstances.
He’s additionally underneath a no-contact order with the kid for 10 years. Potential restitution is feasible on this case.
The boy’s father said he was happy with how the case ended.
“I’m feeling good,” the kid’s father, DeVante Blow, informed The Bellingham Herald following the sentencing. “I’m feeling as if justice was served and the group is safer.”
Blow added that the precedence was ensuring Bittner’s way of thinking was corrected, as a substitute of simply tossing him into jail with out first addressing his psychological and behavioral points.
“That doesn’t clear up the issue, so we have to clear up the issue on the core. And I consider we’re headed that method.”
