Jul 21, 2008 6:15 pm US/Pacific
Man Found Guilty Of Accosting Elie Wiesel In SF
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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Holocaust survivor and scholar Elie Wiesel.
AP
A San Francisco jury found a 24-year-old New Jersey man guilty Monday afternoon of accosting Holocaust survivor and scholar Elie Wiesel in a hotel elevator.
After nearly two days of deliberation, jurors convicted Eric Hunt on Monday of one felony charge of false imprisonment with a hate crime allegation.
Hunt also was convicted of two misdemeanor counts -- one for battery and one for elder abuse. The jury dismissed charges of attempted
kidnapping, stalking and a second false imprisonment charge.
Hunt smiled frailly as the verdict was read. He then visibly shook in his seat afterwards, once glancing back at his mother, who wept quietly.
He withdrew his original not guilty by reason of insanity plea, eliminating the need for a second trial to determine his sanity at the time of the crime.
"I think he's pleased with the verdict," Hunt's attorney John Runfola said of his client. "I think he's relieved that it's over. I'm just saddened it took this long to get justice for this young guy who is mentally ill."
During a nine-day trial, the 79-year-old Wiesel testified that he thought Hunt was trying to kidnap him when he was forcefully pulled off an elevator on Feb. 1, 2007 in San Francisco's downtown Argent Hotel. Wiesel began screaming for help and Hunt left after a few minutes.
Wiesel said the incident shocked and frightened him and he now always travels with security.
On the witness stand, Wiesel read comments allegedly written on a Web site by Hunt calling Wiesel's memoir about the Holocaust "almost entirely fictitious." The online essay also referred to Wiesel as "a genocidal liar."
Wiesel's parents and younger sister died in Nazi death camps during World War II. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 and has written more than 40 books, many of them about the Holocaust and Judaism.
Assistant District Attorney Alan Kennedy argued during the trial that Hunt's crime was motivated by hate and his desire to prove the Holocaust was a lie.
But Runfola contend Hunt's online statements were the result of his mental illness and not anti-Semitism.
"He is not a Holocaust denier," Runfola said, claiming Hunt never had "such beliefs."
Hunt was "so humiliated" by the hate-filled Web essay and now likens the episode to having had too much to drink at a party and forgetting what happened the next day, Runfola said.
The attorney also noted that Hunt had now been diagnosed as suffering from bipolar disorder and was being treated with medication in jail.
Hunt faces up to three years in prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 18.
Runfola said he hoped Hunt receives credit for the time he has already served in jail at his sentencing, and is then given probation with conditions that he receive mental health counseling and medication.
"Obviously, his mother and father can't wait until he gets back to New Jersey," Runfola said.
Wiesel had said that that he would accept whatever verdict the court decided.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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