Man Imprisoned For Black Man's Beating Faces Federal Hate Crime Charge

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A white man serving a 3- to 6-year state court sentence for beating a black man at a Pittsburgh commuter rail station has agreed to plead guilty to a federal hate crime charge for the same incident.

Federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh announced the hate crime charge against 22-year-old Ryan Kyle on Monday, the first ever filed in western Pennsylvania under a 2009 hate crime statute.

Kyle's attorney, Almon Burke, says Ryan has agreed to plead guilty to the charge which can carry up to 10 years in prison. But Burke says Ryan and federal prosecutors have agreed to recommend a three-year sentence that will run concurrently to Ryan's state sentence - meaning Ryan won't serve any additional prison time if a judge approves the plea deal.

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