By Travis Gettys
Enquirer contributor

COVINGTON - Two teenagers pleaded guilty Thursday to federal civil rights violations stemming from a cross-burning that drove a black family from its Boone County home.

Matthew Scudder, 18, and Jimmy Foster, 19, admitted to U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman that their acts were motivated by race.

Over two days in July, the pair and a juvenile targeted the Rosetta Drive home of Frederick Mahone by burning a cross in his front yard, throwing bricks through his car window and shouting racial slurs.

Mahone and his family moved out of Boone County days later. After learning of the pleas, Mahone said he was relieved to learn that Scudder and Foster had admitted to their crimes.

"I wasn't sure what their point was, but I think they were trying to drive us out of the neighborhood," Mahone said. Boone County "could be a safe place - it has a lot of potential."

Scudder, of Hebron, pleaded guilty to charges of violating civil rights, intimidation and aiding and abetting. Foster, of Independence, pleaded guilty to a charge of violating civil rights.

The two were released on bond until their Dec. 16 sentencing, when each faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Under federal sentencing guidelines Scudder could serve 15 to 21 monthsand Foster could serve eight to 14 months. The pair will also have to pay $2,700 in relocation costs for the Mahones.

An NAACP representative thinks that the teens are getting off too easy. Jerome Bowles, president of the Northern Kentucky Branch of the NAACP, said "We want a clear message sent to this region that these acts will not be tolerated, ".

The potential sentences, especially Foster's, are too short, he said.

"They are all equally involved because no one stood up and said, 'Let's not do this,' " Bowles said.

Scudder, who dropped out of high school in the 10th grade, appeared in court with his shaved hair grown out, and he wore a dark suit and wire-rimmed glasses.

He must wear an electronic tracking device, hold a job and report to a probation officer while he awaits sentencing, said his attorney, Howard Tankersley.

During the hearing, Bertelsman repeatedly reminded Foster, an 11th-grade dropout, to answer questions by speaking instead of nodding.

Prosecutors said Scudder and Foster met July 2 at the Rosetta Drive home of a juvenile, who has also been charged in federal court . The trio discussed their hatred of blacks and watched white supremacist movies.

Scudder and the juvenile built a 3-foot wooden cross, wrapped it in a sheet, doused it with lighter fluid and set it on fire in the Mahones' front yard. The next day, prosecutors said, Scudder and the juvenile cut eyeholes in white T-shirts, put them on as masks and threw bricks through the windows of Mahone's car. Foster stood by, a white T-shirt pulled over his head, while Scudder and the juvenile threw the bricks and yelled racial epithets, prosecutors said.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Foster and Scudder July 16, after they bragged to acquaintances. The two waived their rights to a federal grand jury hearing and began negotiating a plea agreement.

The case was prosecuted in federal court because under Kentucky law, the teens would have faced only misdemeanor charges of criminal trespassing and criminal mischief and the possibility of one year in jail.

The case prompted criticism of Kentucky's hate crimes statute, which unlike in Ohio's, takes motivation into account only during the sentencing phase.