A black man forced to undergo facial reconstruction surgery after being savagely beaten by a white man as his friends watched has hit out at the 'lenient' sentences for the group.

Kevin Lockett was left suffering partial vision and memory loss after being attacked at the Wood Street T station stop by Ryan Kyle, 21, in Pittsburgh on May 30 last year.

While Kyle is facing jail time for the attack when he is sentenced, friends Matthew and Christopher LaPlace, 21 and 23, Kenneth Gault, 22, and David Depretis, 21, who witnessed the assault and did not intervene, were given probation and community service as part of plea deals with the district attorney.

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Kevin Lockett (pictured), who has been left with partial vision and memory loss after being beaten on May 30 last year, has hit out at the 'lenient' sentences for four of the five men charged over the attack

Matthew LaPlace, 21 (left), has been given 12 months of probation as part of a plea deal, while Christopher LaPlace, 23 (right) is due to be sentenced today. Both men witnessed the attack and did not intervene

Speaking out against those sentences on Wednesday, Lockett told WTAE: 'It is no punishment. (I'm) a little disappointed. You know, slaps on the wrist. It wouldn't happen like that [the] other way around.

'The way you look at it, if five black guys jumped one white guy, nobody would be going home, nobody would be getting 100 hours of community service.'

Gault and Depretis were both sentenced to six months of probation after pleading no contest, while Matthew LaPlace has been given 12 months of probation.

Christopher LaPlace is due to be sentenced on Thursday, but is also expected to avoid jail time in return for not contesting the charges.

All of the men have also been ordered to complete 100 hours of community service in a minority community or a form that would serve a minority community.

The foursome were variously charged with aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation, theft, reckless endangerment and criminal conspiracy, according to the Washington Post.

Kenneth Gault, 22 (left), and David Depretis, 21 (not pictured), were given six months probation. Ryan Kyle (right), who carried out the assault, is expected to be jailed when he is sentenced in May

CCTV of the incident shows Lockett walking along the Wood Street T station stop in Pittsburgh with a cooler when Kyle stops him, before throwing him on to the tracks

However, the charges were complicated by the fact that Lockett is suffering from memory loss due to the severity of the beating.

While he has repeatedly insisted in court that the men shouted racial slurs at him, he has been unable to say who shouted what.

On the night in question, trains and stations around Wood Street were crowded due to a Kenny Chesney concert having finished at nearby Heniz Field.

Lockett said he was due to get off the train at North Side, but was forced to stay on because of the crowd on the platform, before getting off one stop later.

He says the group began hurling racist abuse at him on the train, but he tried to ignore it.

After getting off the train, CCTV shows Lockett walking up the platform pulling a cooler before Kyle stops him in his tracks.

The men appear to exchange words, before Kyle grabs Lockett around the waist and hurls him backwards over the edge of the subway platform.

Matthew LaPlace can then be seen pulling Lockett's cooler away as Lockett tries to climb back on to the platform while Kyle paces around.

Lockett climbs back to his feet and attempts to get back on to the platform as the group take the cooler away from a witness before attempting to walk off with it

As Matthew LaPlace takes the cooler, Kyle pushes Lockett to the ground before hitting him nine times in the face as he lies defenseless (center)

Once back on the station, Lockett attempts to take the cooler back, but is pushed to the floor by Kyle, who then punches him in the face at least nine times as he lies defenseless.

The rest of the group can be seen looking back at the attack, but continue walking away, while Matthew LaPlace keeps hold of the cooler.

According to the testimony of a police officer at preliminary hearings, another witness called police and the group were traced to a bus stop nearby.

When officers approached, they 'were very upset and wanted to know why they were being stopped'.

When accused of hitting Lockett, Kyle admitted what he had done, before adding: 'Who cares, it was only a n*****.'

The officers also recalled Gault saying: 'Don’t know why you’re making such a big deal over a crackhead n*****.'

While the group look back at Kyle punching Lockett, none of them intervenes. After they walk away one witness comes over to help Lockett, while another called police

Kyle was initially charged with attempted homicide, but that was dropped as part of his plea deal, and he is now in custody and expected to be sentenced in May.

Addressing Lockett's criticism of the plea bargains, District Attorney Stephen Zappala said via a statement: 'The offers were explained in detail both to the arresting officer and Mr Lockett.

'We are satisfied that the dispositions involving these five defendants are appropriate.'

Patrick Thomassey, attorney for Matthew LaPlace, added: 'One of these young men was out of control. The others, for lack of a better word, was just sort of there.