LONDON - The actions of
a 17-year-old boy in an attack on two lesbians in London were
motivated by hostility towards their sexuality, a judge ruled on
Friday.
"These two women were being pestered, harassed and
intimidated because of who they were," district judge Susan
Williams told the court.
Williams sentenced the boy to a four-month youth
rehabilitation order with a 20-hour reparation requirement,
similar to community service, and a two-week curfew.
On Thursday, the boy, along with two other teenagers,
pleaded guilty at Highbury Magistrates' Court to public order
offences in relation to the attack that took place on a London
bus in May.
Two other youths aged 15 and 16 pleaded guilty to committing
an aggravated hate crime and handling stolen goods.
But Friday's special hearing was convened after the
17-year-old denied his actions were motivated by homophobia. He
is accused of throwing coins at the women and making "kissing
gestures", which he denied.
The victims said the group had tried to force them to kiss
each other and made references to sex acts. An ensuing fight
left both women with facial wounds after they were punched
several times.
"It was scary and, frankly, I deal with a lot of harassment
in London," Christine Hannigan told Highbury Corner Youth Court
on Friday. "They were being very aggressive verbally and then
they made it physical."
"I felt intimated and humiliated," her partner Melania
Geymonat told the court through an interpreter. "The impression
I got was, as a group they were all sort of egging each other
on."
Photos of the women with bloody faces went viral and sparked
widespread condemnation on social media.
The number of hate crimes recorded by British police against
lesbian, gay and bisexual people rose 25% to 14,491 in the year
to March 2019, according to the most recent official data.
The other two teenagers will be sentenced in December.
Thomson Reuters
Foundation