A 15-year-old pleaded guilty in Juvenile Court last week to three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and hate crime charges related to the anti-gay attacks that took place during the San Diego LGBT Pride festival in Balboa Park in July.

Because he is a juvenile and was not tried as an adult, the courts protect his identity. Had the district attorney charged him as an adult, he would have faced 15 years.

He faces up to 13 years in what is now known as the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Juvenile Justice, formerly known as the California Youth Authority. By pleading guilty to these charges in Juvenile Court, he avoided trial as an adult.

On Oct. 4, Superior Court Judge Theodore Weathers will sentence the young man. Judge Weathers was the very first openly gay man appointed to the Superior Court bench, and was appointed by Governor Gray Davis.

As I’ve reported here, Judge Weathers and his partner have been domestic partners for at least 20 years, and they have a daughter, who is biracial. It’s safe to say that Judge Weathers is quite familiar with many aspects of bias.

Of course, some will assume that this 15-year-old is not very lucky. How could things be any worse than being prosecuted by a woman who is Jewish, lesbian and a law-and-order Republican? And, worse, when the judge is gay?

He must be thinking he’s going to get the maximum sentence and get placed in the most violent facility, where he will face rape and violence every day. And that will be just from the prison guards…

To some, that would be poetic justice. To others, it would be compounding an already brutal crime with just more violence.

That’s why it’s important that District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Judge Weathers do something special with the sentencing of this youth, so that we might be able to make more strides against violence inflicted on GLBT adults and youth.

We can all be certain that Bonnie and Ted are well aware of the literature about the perpetrators of hate crimes against gay men. Putting the perps behind bars for a long time doesn’t do that much good. Sometimes the perp is so vile there’s no choice.

The community, which is the victim of the crime, doesn’t benefit. The old CYA is not a place where much rehab takes place. Suicides and sexual violence are hardly foreign.

Obviously, this young man needs counseling, and, ideally, the state will provide that in a secure facility.

And it’s pretty much a certainty that he will do time. One thing is clear with a lesbian prosecutor and a gay judge: The young man is not going to walk away with some type of slap on the wrist for clubbing defenseless gay men.

But Bonnie is a former judge and Ted is a former defense lawyer. Neither will simply throw a young man to the wolves if there is anything redeeming in him. And that may be why this young man is actually very lucky that he’s dealing with Bonnie and Ted.

Our hope is that this young man may one day change through counseling and schooling, and he will learn how much pain he caused, not just for his direct victims but for the GLBT community and all of San Diego.

We also hope he can one day serve our community. And I don’t mean cleaning toilets at The Center. I mean helping educate youth so that gay youth and adults can be free from violence.

Studies suggest that former gay-haters can be the most effective speakers at schools. And this is where we need help the most. The former gay-hater connects with those in the audience who hate gay folks: “I hated gays like I know some of you do, but here’s something I did that’s even stupider than hating gays…”

They talk about their prejudices against gays, the attack and how they served time. It’s very effective when the victim is there too. It’s kind of like Scared Straight.

If potential bashers in the crowd don’t alter their views, they at least know they don’t want to bash gay men, lest they face GLBT cops, prosecutors, judges and prison officials. Life as the virgin bride in the Aryan brotherhood isn’t that pleasant.

These speaking engagements are not only helpful in educating youth, they also help the perpetrator in his rehabilitation.

But whether this is even possible depends on the progress of the convicted juvenile. I suspect D.A. Dumanis and Judge Weathers will be watching him closely. It would be nice to see something good come out of this heinous crime.