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South Lake Tahoe attack draws federal civil rights indictment

The Associated Press

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. ” A federal grand jury in Sacramento has indicted a couple on civil rights charges in the 2007 beating of an Indian-American couple at Lake Tahoe.

Joseph and Georgia Silva of Fairfield pleaded no contest to misdemeanor state assault charges in July. The husband, who is 55, was sentenced to six months in El Dorado County Jail, while his 51-year-old wife was sentenced to a year.

The federal charges carry maximum sentences of 10 years in prison.



The U.S. attorney’s office in Sacramento says federal charges can be filed when civil rights violations are not pursued through state prosecutions. A county judge previously dismissed hate crime allegations against the Silvas.

The couple’s attorney did not return telephone and e-mail messages Thursday night.



The attack left one victim with broken bones in his face.


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