FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 25, 2007

CONTACT: SUELLEN PIERCE
704.338.3120
FAX 704.227.0264

NORTH CAROLINA MAN INDICTED IN CROSS-BURNING CASE

WASHINGTON - Rena J. Comisac, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Gretchen C. F. Shappert, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, and Thomas Nathan Gray, Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Field Office of the FBI announced that yesterday, a federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte indicted Curtis Gene Worley, 49, of Ellenboro, N.C., on a federal criminal civil rights violation alleging that he burned a cross in front of the residence of an African-American family who also resided in Ellenboro.

The indictment charges that, on or about Sept. 25, 2007, Worley used a burning cross to intimidate and interfere with an African-American family because of race and because the family was occupying a dwelling. The indictment charges that Worley violated Title 42, U.S. Code § 3631(a), which provides criminal penalties for interference with the rights of citizens under the Fair Housing Act. The case will be tried in the U.S. District Court in Asheville.

If convicted, Worley faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and a maximum fine of $250,000, or both. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the court determines a defendant's actual sentence based upon a formula that takes into account the severity and characteristics of the offense and the defendant's criminal history, if any.

The Department of Justice has compiled a significant record on criminal civil rights prosecutions in recent years. For example, in the last seven years, the Civil Rights Division brought 41 cross-burning prosecutions and convicted 60 defendants for these heinous crimes. In fiscal year 2007, the Division convicted 189 defendants, the highest number of defendants ever in the history of the Division, and surpassed last year's record-high number of 181 defendants.

With respect to the individual charged, the law gives him a presumption of innocence, and the government has the burden of proving the elements of each offense beyond a reasonable doubt.