Perin Jacobchuk, a 34-year-old man from Washington state, has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to hate crime charges related to separate assaults on a Jewish man and an Asian woman in New York City, according to officials. In a statement obtained by 1010 WINS, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. stated that Jacobchuk will serve a concurrent sentence of 3 1/2 years and 1 1/3 to 4 years for his crimes. Bragg emphasized that both victims have fully recovered from their physical injuries and that this sentence holds Jacobchuk accountable for his actions fueled by prejudice.
The first incident, as documented by court records, took place on August 15, 2021, near West 54th Street and Broadway. Jacobchuk aggressed a 63-year-old Asian woman, shouting “Go back to China” before physically assaulting her, causing her to fall and sustain injuries. On December 4, 2022, in Central Park, he made antisemitic comments and assaulted a 64-year-old Jewish man, who suffered serious injuries from the attack. Information from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) notes that the sentencing comes amidst a rise in antisemitic hate crimes following a significant geopolitical event, specifically the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023.
During the Central Park incident, Jacobchuk was heard saying, “Kanye for President, Kanye 2024,” a reference to the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who himself had made a series of antisemitic comments in 2022. The attacks predated the escalation in the Middle East, but they contribute to a climate where assaults against Jewish individuals in NYC were notably high, even before October's international conflict, as reported by the JTA.
While statistics reflect a broader issue of bias-fueled violence, the successful prosecution of such crimes remains a complex task. Proving bias can be difficult, and it is not uncommon for the legal process to extend over several years. Nonetheless, Bragg expressed hope that the recent resolution in Jacobchuk's case would bring some measure of comfort to the victims, acknowledging the rarity of assigning steep prison sentences for hate crimes.
