London: Teen Hoodlums Sentenced Over Baseball Bat Gay Attack
By Jonny Payne
An eighteen-year-old man who enticed a gay man into a park where three others attacked the victim with baseball bats was sentenced to a seven-year jail term at Leicester Crown Court on Saturday.
As reported by the Leicester Mercury, the court was told Adam Ayres met his 50-year-old victim in an online chatroom and arranged to meet him in a park near Holts Close, Burbage in March 2010, before leading him to a savage attack, which left the older man with a fractured skull and bruising to his brain.
The victim, who cannot be named, said, as reported by the newspaper: “Having been in the situation, I understand that contacting police and confronting those responsible in court is extremely daunting, but all those involved in this investigation did their utmost to make it as easy as possible.
“I would encourage anyone who has been the victim of a hate crime to come forward and get justice for themselves.”
The victim said in court that the attackers told him that he would “not be meeting gay guys again” and it was revealed that Ayres even bragged about the incident on his Facebook account.
As reported by the Leicester Mercury, Ayres, of Watling Street, Burbage, denied a charge of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm, stating he was “tricked” into luring the victim towards the attackers who he claims he did not know were carrying the implements used in the attack.
Upon convicting the teenager, Judge Sylvia De Bertodano said: “A plan was made over a number of days to attack a man you did not know apparently because you didn’t like his sexual orientation.
“You lay in wait for him after dark and attacked him with baseball bats and fractured his skull.
“You had a good education and a good upbringing and, before this, had a great deal going for you.
“Why you took it upon yourself to offend in this way, only you can know.
“It’s lucky the harm you caused wasn’t greater than it was.”
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