On Gay Assault Judge Says He was “establishing his straight credentials”

A man acquitted of assault in a gay-friendly Irish bar was “establishing his straight credentials”, a judge has said.

Peter Lloyd

A man acquitted of assault in a gay-friendly Irish bar was “establishing his straight credentials”, a judge has said.

Christopher Thompson pushed his face into another man’s in Londonderry’s Pepe’s bar, last November. Although the injured party didn't report the incident, a shocked on-looker did.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, defence solicitor Seamus Quigley said Thompson was reacting to unwanted sexual advances.
Quoting from his client's police statement, Quigley said: “I was going for a smoke and when I opened the door he felt my a*** so I turned around and sunk my head into his head because he was ready to plant his lips on me.”
Now, District Judge Barney McElholm said he accepted the 21-year-old defendant was brushing off the man.

"If someone did that to a woman in this town, heaven knows how she would react," he said. “That is a serious point."He added: “This was a serious initial assault not in terms of injury, but it was an assault on the defendant. The question is - was his response proportionate or disproportionate?
“I accept it was proportionate in that I think Mr Thompson was establishing his straight credentials. It was not a case of him carrying out an assault, rather a brush-off,”

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