Rochester jury finds woman who hurled racial slurs at a Black child on a playground guilty
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A woman who called a Black, autistic child a racial slur last year has been found guilty of one count of disorderly conduct and not guilty on another.
The incident, which occurred at a playground in Rochester in April of last year, was caught on video by a bystander and went viral. Shiloh Hendrix, 37, called a then 8-year-old boy the n-word after he allegedly reached into her diaper bag at Roy Sutherland playground in Soldier's Field Park and took an item. She then began cussing at the bystander, who is Black — hurling the n-word at him as well.
The incident prompted Rochester City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage to charge Hendrix with two counts of disorderly conduct, one involving her words and behavior toward the child and the other involving her words and behavior toward the man who video taped the incident.
The guilty verdict was related to her behavior toward the man who video taped the confrontation.
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Hendrix was sentenced immediately following the verdict being read. She was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, was placed on probation and ordered to complete community service. She initially faced up to 90 days in jail, but will serve no jail time unless probation is broken.
Her defense attorney, Brian Karalus, said he would appeal the decision.
“I think it's pathetic,” Karalus said following the ruling. “I think it's sad. [I’m] shocked.”
In a statement Friday morning, the Rochester city attorney acknowledged the verdict convicting Hendrix and “what has made this incident so painful for many, in our community.”
“Ms. Hendrix fully admitted to her hateful and racist conduct, toward a child with a disability and others, and she has profited immensely while showing no remorse,” the city attorney said.
After the video of her hurling racial slurs went viral, Hendrix claimed she had been doxxed and threatened, and launched an online fundraising campaign to help her relocate. That campaign has raised close to $900,000.
Hendrix did not take the stand
The jury deliberated for nine hours after hearing closing arguments in the trial, which dragged on in fits and starts as Assistant Chief Judge Christa M. Daily and Karalus repeatedly clashed over evidence, lines of questioning and Karalus’s behavior in the courtroom.
“It was like I was fighting the prosecutor and the judge,” Karalus said late in the evening outside of the courthouse. “It was like I'm taking on two parties at the same time: the judge and the prosecutor. It was very bizarre.”
In his closing argument, prosecutor Nicholas Shabel asked the jury to focus on Hendrix’s actions as well as her use of a racial slur.
He pointed to testimony from the boy’s father Shire Jimale, law enforcement officials who interviewed Jimale, and the bystander video that he said painted a clear picture: Hendrix chased the boy after he took something from her bag, Hendrix called the boy the n-word as well as the man who started videotaping the incident, and that Hendrix appeared angry and poised to become physically aggressive with the child.
Her “screaming at the child, her demeanor, her language all speak to this. All of those are appropriate for your consideration,” said Shabel.
In his testimony, Jimale said his son has a history of running away and taking things that don’t belong to him because he is autistic. As a result, the child wears a law enforcement issued GPS tracker that helps police find the child when he runs off.
During the trial, Karalus argued that Hendrix’s choice of using the n-word was a bad one, but there’s a difference between something being morally wrong and something being illegal.
“The nature of this case, the fact that the government has decided to prosecute … speech, that makes this anything but a typical disorderly conduct case,” he said in his closing statement.
“The state of Minnesota has decided to prosecute Ms. Hendrix for language,” he said.
Karalus argued that there was no evidence that Hendrix was physically threatening to the boy other than the father’s recounting of the events. And he argued that the jury should not consider that the child is autistic in their deliberation because that aspect of the case was meant to generate sympathy among the jurors.
Throughout the trial, Karalus’s questioning had little to do with the incident caught on camera, and focused more on Jimale’s credibility and motivations — whether Jimale’s story changed over time and if Jimale’s family sought to profit off the event.
Shortly after the incident, the Rochester branch of the NAACP set up a fundraiser to help the family, raising more than $330,000, which is now in a trust for the child.
