A Utah teen accused of punching a soccer referee who later died has been charged with homicide by assault, a count issued when an attack unintentionally causes death.
A teen who punched a soccer referee who later died from is injuries has been charged with homicide by assault on Wednesday. The charged, which is used when an attack causes death unintentionally, was announced by attorney Sim Gill of Salt Lake County District.
The teen's charge is not as serious as manslaughter and is punishable with up to five years in prison for adults. But because he is a minor, he may serve less than that, if he does not get tried as an adult.
The 17-year-old unnamed teen has remained in juvenile detention since April 27, the day he punched referee Ricardo Portillo.
The 46-year-old soccer referee passed away Saturday at 9:33 p.m. at Intermountain Medical Center, where he remained in a coma after he punched by the teen, according to a press release by the Unified Police Department.
Portillo was punched during at youth match at Eisenhower Junior High School in Taylorville on April 27. He had issued a 'Yellow Card' after seeing a goalkeeper pushing another. But the goalkeeper retaliated by punching him on his head, as he was jotting down notes in his notebook.
Soon after, the referee reportedly started to vomit blood after feeling dizzy, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. His condition worsened after he was taken to hospital where he fell into a coma and eventually died.
