New Brighton Worker Sentenced to 10 Years for Disabilities Hate Crimes

A former employee of a Beaver County health care facility has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiring to commit and carrying out hate crimes against severely disabled residents.

United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan handed down the sentence to Tyler Smith, 34, of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Smith and his co-defendant, Zachary Dinell, were employees of an in-patient health care facility in New Brighton. They were responsible for providing daily assistance to residents who suffered from severe physical, intellectual, and emotional disabilities.

From June 2016 to September 2017, Smith and Dinell engaged in a conspiracy to commit hate crimes against 13 residents because of their actual or perceived disabilities. The assaults included punching and kicking, rubbing Purell hand sanitizer in their eyes, spraying mouthwash in their eyes and mouths, and removing a resident’s compression stocking in a manner intended to inflict pain.

Several of the assaults were recorded on Dinell’s cell phone, and Smith admitted to jumping on top of a 13-year-old minor while the child was lying prone on his bed. The incident was filmed by Dinell, who then texted the video to Smith.

“Today’s sentencing holds Tyler Smith accountable for the abhorrent and degrading assaults he and Zachary Dinell carried out against more than a dozen victims—simply because they were disabled,” U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan said. “Hate crimes target and terrorize not just individuals but whole communities.”

Smith’s co-defendant, Zachary Dinell, was previously sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment for his role in the conspiracy.

The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office praised the victims’ families for their courage in coming forward and seeking justice for their loved ones.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Pittsburgh Division and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.