Facebook Live Torture Defendant Jailed Over Social Media

CHICAGO, IL — One of the original four defendants who allegedly tormented a mentally challenged Crystal Lake man and streamed video footage of it online is back behind bars after her phone was used to log on to Facebook. Brittany Covington, 19, had been on probation after pleading guilty to a hate crime stemming from the infamous 2017 incident. But part of her probation included staying off the social media platform.

Covington was arrested in January 2017 with Jordan Hill, Tesfaye Cooper and Tanishia Covington, her sister. They are accused of tying up the then-18-year-old victim with duct tape before beating and taunting him at Covingtons' West Side apartment.

While captive, the victim — who is white and has schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — had his clothes and hair cut and was forced to drink water from a toilet bowl. The defendants, who are black, can be heard shouting, "F--- Donald Trump!" and "F--- white people!" in the video that captured the brutal incident, which was streamed live on Facebook

All four defendants pleaded not guilty to various charges, including aggravated kidnapping and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. In December 2017, Brittany Covington made a deal with prosecutors, receiving four years' probation in exchange for pleading guilty to a hate crime, aggravated battery and intimidation.

The terms of her probation, however, were contingent on her staying off social media during that time. In March, software on Covington's phone showed the device's Facebook app had been accessed at least three times, and she was taken into custody because of that last week, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

April Preyar, Covington's lawyer, told a Cook County Judge William Hooks that someone else had borrowed Covington's phone and used the pre-loaded social media app on it, the report stated. Hook rejected that theory and told Preyar that the individual who borrowed the phone needed to appear at Covington's hearing in June, the report added.

More Patch Coverage:

• 4 Arrested in Binding, Torturing of Mentally Challenged Man: Police
• Judge To Facebook Live Torture Case Defendants: 'Where Is Your Sense Of Decency?'
• Facebook Live Torture Case Defendants Plead Not Guilty
• Bail Set For All 4 Defendants In Facebook Live Torture Case
• Teen Takes Plea Deal In Hate Crime
• Facebook Live Torture Case Defendant Charged In Jail Fight
• Defendant Hill Rejects Plea Deal
• Facebook Live Torture Case Defendant Gets 3 Years In Plea Deal

Before she was taken into custody, Covington had been working at a bakery in Chicago after making her plea deal late last year, the report stated. She had been in jail since her arrest following the January 2017 incident.

Last month, Brittany Covington's sister, Tanishia, 25, made a similar deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to a hate crime, intimidation and aggravated battery. But Tanishia Covington was given a three-year prison term instead of probation.

Cooper and Hill are expected to stand trial later this year. In March, Hill rejected a plea deal that would have sentenced him to eight years in prison if he pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping and a hate crime.

More via the Chicago Sun-Times

Brittany Covington (Photo via Cook County Sheriff's Office)