Alleged Facebook Torture-Attack Video 'Sickening,' CPD Superintendent Says

CHICAGO, IL -- New details have emerged of a social media video that showed an 18-year-old mentally disabled man bound, gagged and tortured by four people that was apparently broadcast live on Facebook as it was happening.

>>>> Charges Expected Today Against 4 Accused in Facebook Live Torture Case

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a news conference on Wednesday that four 18-year-old suspects -- two men and two women -- were now in police custody and that charges were imminent. He called the 30-minute video of the young man being brutalized as his alleged captors uttered anti-Donald Trump profanities “sickening.” The young man is white, and the four adult suspects are African-American.

“Have you seen the video? It’s sickening. It makes you wonder what would make individuals treat someone like that,” Johnson said. “I’ve been a cop 28 years and I’ve seen some things you shouldn’t see in a lifetime, I’m not going to say it shocked me, but it was sickening.”

Police found the young man, who had been reported missing from Crystal Lake by his parents, wandering the streets in a disoriented state Tuesday near Homan and Lexington. Noticing the man appeared to be in distress, the officers stopped to investigate further.

“The officers encountered an individual and it didn’t seem right,” CPD Capt. Steven Sesso said. “Clearly this individual was in distress and in crisis and they cared enough to do something about it.”

The Crystal Lake man was treated and released at a nearby hospital. Later Tuesday afternoon, police went to investigate a battery that occurred a block from where the man was found in the Homan Square neighborhood. A police news release said officers found signs that a battery occurred and property damage.

Police were able to link the suburban man to the scene after becoming aware of the Facebook Live video showing the alleged attack.

>>>> 4 Arrested in Binding, Torturing of Mentally Challenged Man: Police

Area North Commander Kevin Duffin said police got in touch with the man’s parents, who picked up their son at Area North Detective Headquarters. Police believe he was detained for at least 24 hours.

“He’s traumatized by the incident, he’s hard to interview,” Duffin said.

Duffin added that the Cook County assistant state’s attorney was interviewing the suburban man. The commander expected the four suspects to be charged within the next 24 hours.

A second video taken from Facebook Live and posted to YouTube also surfaced on Wednesday, showing the Crystal Lake man getting his head shoved into a toilet bowl and forced to drink the water. A male voice orders him to say “F Trump” as the situation escalates. At one point, the man can be heard crying.

Duffin said the suburban man hasn’t said if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Toxicology tests at the hospital, the results of which would not be available for several weeks.

It is not known if the four would be charged with kidnapping or hate crimes, during which the four adults can be heard making derogatory remarks about white people and Trump. .

“They’re 18, legally adults, but young adults,” Duffin added. “Young adults make stupid decisions. Were trying to determine if it’s sincere or just stupid ranting and raving.”

Johnson said he did not know if the attack was politically motivated.

“I can’t say what’s in the mind of four people who would do something like this,” Johnson said. “Except for just stupidity.”

News media reported that suburban man was from Crystal Lake in Chicago’s far northwest suburbs.