A man who told an immigrant to “go back” to his country and then spit in his face has been ordered to write a 500-word essay, according to prosecutors.
Harold Eugene Denson III will have to write the essay after pleading no contest to an unlawful weapon use charge and a bias crime charge, according a statement last week from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office in Oregon. Denson will be allowed to withdraw his bias crime plea if the court accepts his essay.
Denson was also sentenced to 90 days in jail, including time served credits for the unlawful weapon use conviction.
The statement said that Denton in August asked the victim, who is an immigrant from Ukraine, where he was born. He then “spit in the victim’s face and told him him to go back to his own country.”
Denson also threatened to cut the victim with a box cutter, according to prosecutors.
Defense lawyer Autumn Shreve said that a dispute between the men started after a hole appeared in a bag Denson was using to collect cans, causing the cans to fall out, according to The Oregonian. She added that Denson thought the victim was acting in a condescending way.
District Attorney Nicole Hermann said in a statement that the essay requirement was “a unique resolution to a very serious incident.”
“Mr. Denson needs to understand the impact his actions had on the victim and our immigrant communities,” she said. “This is an opportunity for him to reconcile his behavior through compassion, learning and understanding.”
*story by The Hill