BOSTON, Nov. 6, 2015—The Suffolk County Grand Jury has indicted two brothers on felony hate crime charges for allegedly beating and urinating on a man because they believed he was an immigrant, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The indictments, returned late yesterday, charge both SCOTT LEADER (D.O.B. 7/20/77) and STEVE LEADER (D.O.B. 8/5/85), both of South Boston, with civil rights violations while causing bodily injury, a charge that carries up to 10 years in state prison. The indictments also charge both men with assault and battery for purposes of intimidation causing bodily injury, two counts each of assault and battery, and two counts each of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Both defendants have been in custody since their Aug. 19 arrests by Massachusetts State Police and subsequent arraignment in Dorchester Municipal Court, where they were held without bail under the state’s dangerousness statute. The indictments move their cases to Suffolk Superior Court.

The defendants allegedly kicked, punched, and urinated on the victim, a 58-year-old homeless man sleeping near the JFK/UMass MBTA station, at about 12:30 that morning. One of them took a metal pole and struck the victim with it repeatedly. The two assailants then walked away laughing, witnesses said.

The victim was transported immediately to Boston Medical Center, where he was treated for a broken nose, serious bruising across his torso, and other injuries.

At the State Police barracks in South Boston, Scott Leader allegedly made a series of incriminating statements, including that he and his brother “tuned up” an “illegal immigrant,” and that this behavior was acceptable because the victim was homeless and Hispanic.

Assistant District Attorney Nicole Rimar of the DA’s Major Felony Bureau led the grand jury investigation resulting in the indictments. The defendants’ Superior Court arraignments have not yet been scheduled. Their next court date in Dorchester is Dec. 9.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.