Hate crime charges mulled in Florida

BOCA RATON, Fla., March 1 (UPI) -- Florida police say they are unsure whether the actions of three teenage boys, who confessed to vandalizing a temple with Nazi symbols, constitute a hate crime.

The white teens, ages 14, 15 and 17 -- who admitted scratching a swastika, "KKK," and the words "Hail Hitler" and "nigger" on doors inside Temple Beth El in Boca Raton Feb. 15 -- have been charged with only criminal mischief, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Sunday.

The case has been turned over the prosecutors.

"The detective said the evidence did not support (an enhanced hate crime penalty) at this point. But the investigation is ongoing," police spokeswoman Sandra Boonenberg said.

Andy Rosenkranz, the Florida regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, called the vandalism "a prima facie hate crime."

"A swastika at the side of the synagogue, I think, is a strong indication of bias and prejudice directed at a religious institution for its purposes of being a Jewish institution," he said. "We'd be concerned if this is not being investigated as a potential hate crime."