The three Howell High School students who assaulted a special needs student on Aug. 31, 2021, and recorded the attack are being charged as adults by the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office with assault with intent to commit great bodily harm, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
In a release from the Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation by the Howell Police Department details that the three defendants pretended to befriend the victim, who was new to the Howell Public Schools District. The three spent time with him at lunch and between classes, and they allegedly encouraged the victim to meet them at the Howell Skate Park after school, which is where the assault took place. The investigation said the attack, “unprovoked by the victim and planned by the defendants,” was carried out by two of the defendants as the third videotaped it. The 12-second video of the assault spread across social media. (You can read WHMI’s coverage of the assault by clicking here.)
The names of the defendants have not been released as they have not yet been arraigned in Livingston County’s 53rd District Court.
The charge of assault with intent to commit great bodily harm allows for defendants who are 14-16 years old to be charged as adults, and, if convicted, sentenced as adults.
