Judge puts off trial in racially motivated beating

April 20, 1998
Web posted at: 5:51 p.m. EDT (2151 GMT)

CHICAGO (CNN) -- A judge Monday put off the trial of three white men charged with beating a black teen-ager in a racially motivated attack.

Frank Caruso, 19; Victor Jasas, 18; and Michael Kwidzinski, 20; are accused of repeatedly kicking 13-year-old Lenard Clark and slamming his head against a stone wall in March 1997.

The judge put off the start of the trial until July 6 after prosecutors said they had not been able to find one witness, and a subpoenaed witness did not show up Monday as required.

Prosecutors also said that Clark continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome and might not be able to endure the trial.

Police have said that Clark was beaten after he rode his bicycle into a white neighborhood.

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