Saturday, December 7, 2024
HomeCrimeWomen beat up gay man, claim it wasn't a hate crime because...

Women beat up gay man, claim it wasn’t a hate crime because they’re lesbians

Three women accused of beating up a gay man claim they cannot be charged with a hate crime because they are all lesbians.


Sisters Erika Stroud, 21, Felicia Stroud, 18, and Lydia Sanford, 20, are charged with viciously beating the man and breaking his nose after he bumped into them at a train station in Boston.

The women all face hate crime charges of assault and battery with intent to intimidate, which carries up to a 10-year prison sentence.

Sisters Erika Stroud, 21, left, and Felicia Stroud, 18, right, both claim they should not have been charged with a hate crime because they are lesbians.

But Carolyn Euell, 38, mother of two of the Strouds told the Boston Herald that the alleged attack ‘can’t be hateful’ because both her daughters are lesbians.

Prosecutors said no matter the defendants’ sexual orientation, they can still face the charge by the use of hateful language.

Prosecutor Lindsey Weinstein said the two sisters and Sanford, who is one of their domestic partners, repeatedly punched and kicked the man on Sunday at the Forest Hills T station in Jamaica Plain, reports the Herald.

She said the victim told the police he believed the attack was ‘motivated as a crime because of his sexual orientation’ since the three women ‘called him insulting homophobic slurs’.

But attorney Helene Tomlinson, who represented Sanford, told the judge her client is ‘openly identified as a lesbian … so any homophobic (conduct) is unwarranted.’

She said the alleged victim was the aggressor and used racial slurs: ‘He provoked them.’ reports the Herald.

Felicia Stroud’s attorney, C. Harold Krasnow, said, ‘They don’t know what his sexual orientation is, just like he doesn’t know what theirs is.’

But Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, told the Herald that the prosecutors will have no problem proving the women committed a hate crime, even if they are lesbians.

‘The defendants’ particular orientation or alleged orientations have no bearing on our ability to prosecute for allegedly targeting a person who they believe to be different from them,’ he said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2106722/Women-beat-gay-man-say-charged-hate-crime–theyre-lesbians.html#ixzz1nXsVcAmz

Arlene Culpepper, Asst. Editor-in-Chief
Arlene Culpepper, Asst. Editor-in-Chiefhttp://www.mikodreamz.com
Vice-President & Asst. Editor-in-Chief of The Heat Magazine, Arlene is a Louisiana native, Certified Paralegal, Publicist, Owner of MIKODreamz PR, co-owner of 504Diffusion, writer, producer, and jack of all trades, who is heavily involved in her community as well as serving as Media Advisor for New Orleans Union for Entertainment (NOUE), Member of the NOLA Music Awards from 2012-present & Member of the Press Club of New Orleans. Her work is published across the web. Her PR work has been highly recognized & awarded. She was/is publicist for the late great BTY YoungN, 0017th and more. She is also working on her first novel & aspires to turn it into a film & is currently writing the authorized biography of the legendary Pimp C of UGK. She can be reached via email at Arlene@theheatmag.com. Follow her on Twitter - @CategorySeven & Instagram - @hurricanearlene.
RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

- Advertisment -

Most Popular

Recent Comments

Melissa Ellis on CONTROL!!!
Arlene Culpepper, Asst. Editor-in-Chief on STRAIT JIGG: ‘Ova Ya Dome’ Mixtape Debuts
GI GI on Interviews
bestever2682 on Lil Kim Boycotts BET Awards
J. 'StraitJigg' Wineburg on 16 Year Old Becomes Face of Louis Vuitton
J. 'StraitJigg' Wineburg on 16 Year Old Becomes Face of Louis Vuitton
Arlene Culpepper, Asst. Editor-in-Chief on Jack Spratt: A Genuine New Orleans Original
Arlene Culpepper, Asst. Editor-in-Chief on D.E.T.D.F.’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt
J. 'StraitJigg' Wineburg on Mike Tyson Covers Esquire Magazine (Photo)