A Santa Cruz man has been sentenced to almost seven years in prison for a violent hate crime. Following a change in legislation, this conviction is the first of its kind.
Ole Hougen, 45, was sentenced to 6 years and 10 months in prison for attacking a Black man with a nine-inch knife as he crossed the street in Santa Cruz. Hougen slashed the man's head and chest while repeatedly yelling racial slurs.
The attack occurred in 2020, a year that saw hate crimes skyrocket throughout the nation. At the state level, legislators worked to strengthen federal hate crime law, which has historically been difficult to prove.
"Federal hate crimes are uniquely difficult to prove in a court of law," the San Francisco Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. "Unlike with other crimes, the FBI must uncover proof of the offender's motive."
"One (law) is expanding the definition of 'hate crime,'" State Senator Josh Becker told KCBS Radio.
The change in legislation is a massive step in combating racially motivated attacks. "It breaks down into what the individuals fear, which is for their personal safety," Huy Tran, a board member with the Vietnamese American Roundtable explained. "The fear of going out alone and actively restricting their own activities."
In a landmark case, Hougen is the first to be convicted in Northern California under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
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