Brutal beating of woman in McDonald’s leads to hate crime charge, IL cops say
A 19-year-old accused of attacking a woman at an Illinois McDonald’s has now been charged with a hate crime, prosecutors said.
John Kammrad and a juvenile started a verbal confrontation with Kady Grass, then punched and kicked her in the head, leaving her with serious injuries, McClatchy News previously reported, citing Grass and police.
Grass said she was attacked because she is a lesbian.
“I think hate crime is the most obvious charge,” Grass told McClatchy News on May 22 after initial charges were filed.
Kammrad was originally charged with two counts of aggravated battery and one count of mob action in connection with the May 13 attack in Carpentersville, police said. A 16-year-old, who was not identified by police because of his age, was also charged.
At the time, prosecutors declined to charge 19-year-old Kammrad or the teen with a hate crime, Carpentersville Deputy Police Chief Kevin Stankowitz told McClatchy News in a May 20 email.
Now, after further review from prosecutors, Kammrad is facing a hate crime charge and an additional count of aggravated battery along with the prior charges, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a May 27 news release.
“I’m really happy that they are charged,” Grass told McClatchy News after the hate crime charges were filed. “I fought so hard and I finally got it.”
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in public spaces, and no one should be attacked because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, as is alleged in this case,” State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said in a statement.
Grass was at the Carpentersville restaurant with her cousin and was going to the bathroom when a person sitting at a table called her a derogatory name, she told McClatchy News in a May 22 interview.
The man and teen made comments about her sexual orientation as they followed her in the McDonald’s, police said.
“I told my cousin just to look forward,” Grass said. “Don’t say anything to him. He was behind me looking me up and down.”
Grass went outside, then Kammrad and a teen attacked her after she headed back inside, she said.
“I didn’t realize that I was getting attacked from behind until it felt like everything was moving in slow motion,” she said.
Grass was taken to the hospital to be treated for a broken nose, among other injuries, police said.
Though her accused attackers have been charged, Grass said she is still emotionally recovering.
“I can’t sleep for the life of me because I just keep having dreams about what happened to me,” she said.
The teen turned himself in on May 16, and Kammrad was arrested May 17. Kammrad is scheduled to appear in court June 27, prosecutors said. He is held in DuPage County jail on unrelated charges, prosecutors said.
Carpentersville is about a 40-mile drive northwest from Chicago.
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Brutal beating of woman in McDonald’s leads to hate crime charge, IL cops say."
