A 17-year-old African-American teen was beaten during a hate crime in Chicago in late December 2011, area police are now reporting.

The victim, Joshua Merritt, a senior at Brother Rice High School, was attacked by three white teenage boys who attend the same institution.

The assault was allegedly motivated by the Black male starting a interracial relationship with the cousin of the youngest perpetrator. The assailants were charged on January 10 for the December 23 attack.

Matthew Herrmann, 18, was charged with misdemeanor battery, a hate crime, and unlawful restraint. He will be tried as an adult, while the younger offenders, who are 16 and 17, were cited in delinquency petitions for the same charges.