NY Man Sentenced For Shoving Autistic Teen During Road Race

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A 57-year-old man who knocked down an autistic upstate New York boy during a high school cross-country race has been sentenced to probation and community service.

Martin MacDonald of Pittsford was sentenced Tuesday in Rochester City Court to three years' probation and 80 hours of community service. He was also ordered to have no contact with Chase Coleman for five years.

MacDonald pleaded guilty in November to endangering the welfare of a child.

The plea came a month after MacDonald got out of his car and shoved the 15-year-old to the ground as the Syracuse teen lagged behind teammates during a race in a Rochester park.

MacDonald said he pushed the boy because he feared the boy would try to steal his wife's purse.

The teen's relatives said he wouldn't have understood anything MacDonald said to him.