A man from Southern California, Jesse Allen Lindsey, has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for a racially motivated attack on an Asian American woman. The Justice Department announced that Lindsey, who was transient at the time of the incident, attacked the woman in Culver City in 2021.
United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald delivered the sentence on Monday. Lindsey had pleaded guilty to one count of a hate crime in December 2024 and has been in federal custody since July 2024.
The incident occurred on June 14, 2021, around 1 a.m., when Lindsey followed the victim as she walked to work. He shouted racial slurs and told her, “You don’t belong here,” before punching her in the head. As she lay injured on the street, he continued with derogatory remarks.
The victim required hospital treatment for injuries to her head and ear and was unable to work for a month due to psychological trauma.
Judge Fitzgerald described the assault as a “shocking and horrible crime” during sentencing and highlighted Lindsey’s extensive criminal history. His record includes convictions for firearms offenses, domestic battery, grand theft, attempted extortion, as well as numerous probation violations and arrests.
After news of the attack circulated, Lindsey fled California but was eventually found serving time in state prison for an unrelated offense. During interviews with law enforcement about this case, Lindsey admitted to striking the victim but claimed it was self-defense.
The FBI conducted the investigation with assistance from the Culver City Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Lindsey Greer Dotson led the prosecution.