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Tesfaye Cooper, 20, entered guilty pleas to one count each of
committing a hate crime and aggravated kidnapping, said Tandra
Simonton of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
The pleas were part of an agreement with prosecutors that saw
additional charges dropped, Simonton said. Cooper is scheduled
for sentencing on July 20.
Lawyers for Cooper could not immediately be reached for comment.
During the hearing Cooper issued a barely-audible apology to the
victim's family, the Chicago Tribune reported, after a letter
was read in court from the victim's sister describing the impact
of the crime on his loved ones.
Cooper's three co-defendants have already pleaded guilty in
connection with the violent incident that took place in January
2017. It touched off an international furor after video of the
livestream was circulated widely on social media and was
condemned by then-President Barack Obama.
Police and prosecutors say the victim, who is white, was tied up
for four or five hours by his African-American assailants,
gagged and beaten, his scalp was cut and he was forced to drink
toilet water.
In the video, the attackers could be heard making comments about
"white people" as the victim cowered in a corner, his mouth
taped shut.
At least one of the attackers could also be heard saying
obscenities about Donald Trump, who was then president-elect.
Police said they did not know whether the victim was a Trump
supporter.
Jordan Hill, who prosecutors say led the attack, was sentenced
to eight years in state prison last week after pleading guilty
to similar charges.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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