Link was broken for me, but I suppose you mean this:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ball-coat-hanger-rape-teammate-john-rk-howard
Without really knowing the case it's impossible to understand what the prosecution might have been able to prove.
Since a plea bargain was reached, I wouldn't think too much of the prosecutor's statements. It's very likely that part of the plea bargain was them saying it wasn't hate / sex crime. The prosecutor is obviously saying these things taken into consideration that it wasn't proved they called him 'nigger' during the ordeal.
The real question here imo is why the prosecutor agreed to a plea bargain. The article seems to suggest that the prosecutor is somehow racist because he doesn't deem it a hate crime, but in all likelihood he simply can't do that anymore today. If you can prove that plea bargains are reached much more easily with white suspects and black victims, then you have a case.