BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A man who punched a Bellingham child in a racially motivated attack has pleaded guilty.
43-year-old Paul Bittner entered the updated plea in Whatcom County Superior Court Tuesday.
Bittner, who is white, was arrested last June after assaulting a black child in a random attack near the Bellingham Police station. The boy was walking with a group of Whatcom Middle School students when Bittner approached him.
The attack left the child with a chipped tooth and a nose injury.
My Bellingham Now previously reported Bittner was initially found incompetent to stand trial, but his case moved back to court in March after five months of treatment at Western State Hospital.
A judge sentenced him to over three years in prison, followed by a year and a half of community custody.
