Man given 7 years in beating livestreamed on Facebook

Brittany Covington, 18, of Chicago; (clockwise from upper left) Tesfaye Cooper, 18, of Chicago; Jordan Hill, 18, of Carpentersville; and Tanishia Covington, 24, of Chicago. | Chicago Police

CHICAGO (AP) - A 20-year-old Chicago man who was the last of four defendants to plead guilty to taking part in the beating of a mentally disabled teenager livestreamed on Facebook has received a seven-year prison sentence.

Tesfaye Cooper pleaded guilty earlier this month to committing a hate crime and aggravated kidnapping. The charges are the same fellow defendant Jordan Hill pleaded guilty to and sentenced to eight years in prison. Hill was considered a ringleader in the attack. A woman, Tanisha Covington, was sentenced to three years in prison and her sister, Brittany Covington, received four years of probation.

The January 2017 incident gained notoriety when one of the suspects posted video showing four African-Americans taunting the bound-and-gagged white teen and using profanities against white people as they attacked him.

Authorities say the victim, who was 18 at the time of the attack, has schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.