A Hammond man is accused of repeatedly punching and kicking a 44-year-old autistic man in an Aug. 15 attack at Hessville Park.

Keshaun Art Kewaun Brooks, 25, is charged with aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony; two felony counts of battery resulting in injury; and misdemeanor battery.

Around 7:15 p.m. on Aug. 15, Hammond police were dispatched to a suspicious person call around Orchard Drive and Kennedy Avenue, according to a probable cause affidavit. A man in black clothing and a white helmet was bleeding and approaching individuals at the park.

Police spoke to the 44-year-old victim, who said he was beaten up by a man, court records state. His nose and mouth were bleeding and paramedics were summoned to treat his injuries.

A group of juveniles approached police and said that a man wearing a white shirt, jeans and dreadlocks in a ponytail accused the victim of following his girlfriend, then attacked him, striking him in the face, records state. Shortly afterward, the juveniles said the man left in a gray Nissan.

Police told the victim to contact someone to pick him up as he was having trouble remembering being attacked, the affidavit states. His aunt came to pick him up and told police that she thinks he had a tooth knocked out, which was later recovered on a nearby bike path.

Police also became aware that the victim is autistic and may not understand the extent of the situation, court records state.

The next day, police became aware of a video posted to social media of the victim being attacked by juveniles at Hessville Park. A license plate reader showed that a gray Toyota Prius with Illinois plates was possibly in the vicinity of the park at the time of the attack, records state. While it was parked at a Hammond residence on Aug. 31, an officer saw a man who matched the description of the man who attacked the victim.

Police reviewed surveillance video from the park that showed Brooks arriving at the park’s north parking lot in the gray Toyota, the affidavit states. He was accompanied by a woman in a gold Toyota Corolla with front-end damage. At 6:35 p.m., Brooks and the woman took a small child to the splashed area, court records state. Before the attack, the victim can be seen riding his bike through the park. He stops for a moment and talks to Brooks and possibly his girlfriend, but remains at a normal distance, records state.

The victim does not appear to be following anyone or doing anything inappropriate.

Around 7:05 p.m., the victim is riding his bike near the picnic pavilion when when is approached by some juveniles, the affidavit states. One of the juveniles throws a white plastic garbage can at the victim, hitting him in the back of the head and neck area and causing him to recoil. Then, a juvenile throws a punch at the victim’s head and pulls on his bike, court records state.

The victim is seen retreating from the juveniles, who initially walk away but regroup nearby. Brooks walks over to the juveniles and talks to them, records state.

The victim starts riding away from the area, but then Brooks and the juveniles follow him and eventually surround him. The victim is struck in the head by a juvenile and falls down while on his bike, the affidavit states. While the victim is on the ground, Brooks kicks and punches the man in the head and face. In the Instagram recording, the juveniles are heard taunting the victim, court records state.

After the battery, the juveniles disperse and Brooks goes to his car.

Police interviewed Brooks after his arrest, records state, and he told police that his girlfriend had told him about a suspicious man at the park a month before this incident, who told her about the location for the bathroom for her son to use. While they were at the splashpad on Aug. 15, his girlfriend pointed out the man. Brooks said the victim rode past them and told them the water wasn’t working at the splashpad, the affidavit states.

Brooks saw the juveniles throw the garbage can at the victim and approached them because he didn’t want anything to happen to the kids.

The juveniles told Brooks that the man “keeps messing with us,” which the victim denied, court records state. But a review of surveillance footage showed the victim was not following them before the attack.

Brooks admitted to punching and kicking the victim, records state, but only after he battered the man did he realize something was wrong with him.

The victim was treated for injuries at St. Catherine’s Hospital in East Chicago, the affidavit states. The victim’s stepfather told police his stepson had four teeth knocked out or removed due to the attack.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/03/charges-filed-in-attack-on-autistic-man-at-hammond-park/