2 Sterling HS students' assault charges accepted by prosecutors after attack caught on camera
The 15-year-old victim's family said they now have to deal with more than $15,000 in medical bills after the violent altercation.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Harris County District Attorney's Office has accepted assault charges against two juveniles accused of beating a classmate during an altercation captured in a viral video last month.
Prosecutors confirmed to Eyewitness News about the misdemeanor counts Thursday, which is nearly one month after Sterling High School student Juan Martinez Jr. said the beating took place on Aug. 24.
The juveniles' identities were withheld due to their ages.
Word of the charges came several hours after the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, demonstrated outside of Houston ISD headquarters to press administrators to act on the incident.
Another advocacy group, FIEL Houston, stood with Martinez and his family last week as part of an appeal for consequences against the teens.
The 15-year-old revealed he was still experiencing trauma and physical injury, all resulting in medical bills surpassing $15,000.
Martinez said he knows one of the boys but doesn't know what prompted him to get attacked.
In the widely circulated video, the teen's attackers get in his face while he's eating in the cafeteria. Martinez doesn't react or respond to the attackers egging him on, which prompts one of them to take a swing at his face.
Editor's note: The video above is from the Sept. 17, 2021, report on the attack, which contains the viral video. The attackers' faces are blurred due to their ages. The victim's face is unblurred because he has come forward in the incident.
