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Loading ...Accused gay basher barred from Boston neighborhood
09.03.2008 3:07pm EDT
(Boston, Massachusetts) A man accused of taking part in what police call a homophobic attack on four people has been ordered not to enter Boston’s heavily gay South End.
Fabio Brandao pleaded not guilty to four civil rights violations, four counts of assault and battery, and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.Municipal Court Judge Eleanor Sinnott has set an Oct. 10 pretrial conference. Until then, he is free on $10,000 bail, but in addition to being ordered not to enter the South End, has been given a 10 p.m. curfew.
The attack took place on Aug. 24. Brandao, 28, was arrested on Friday. Several other men alleged to have participated in the beating remain at large.
The names of the victims are being withheld.
Police allege that four people - three men and a woman – were walking along Columbus Avenue in the heart of the gay area when a car pulled up alongside them. One of those inside the car yelled a homophobic remark at the group.
Police said that Brandao and the other men got out of the car and attacked. They beat two of the men. When the woman attempted to intervene, she, too, was punched.
The woman was not badly injured. The two men received head wounds and were treated and then released from the hospital. But according to the police report, neither remembers details of the attack.
The third man and the woman, according to police, were able to jot down the car’s license number as it sped off. A cell phone also was found at the scene. The car and phone led police to Brandao.
Francis Doran, Brandao’s attorney, said his client is a victim of circumstance.
Doran said that Brandao does not have a history of violence. Originally from Brazil, Brandao is a naturalized American citizen and the father of a nine-year old child.
“Victim of Circumstance” HAHAHAHAH Yeah right!!!
This man is a violent homophobe from a foreign country who doesn’t know how to act. I realize that there are many homophobes who have deeply rooted american ancestory(ie rednecks) but a lot of latin american men are extremely homophobic too and so they come to our country and live in our cities then freak out when they see gay people. The saddest thing is that this man has a daughter who he is most likely raising to be anti-gay and prejudiced. This daughter will then raise young gay bashers because homophobia gets passed down from generation to generation.
I hope the judge throws the book at this guy.
There is nothing in the article, however, that suggests that the perp being foreign-born is in any way relevant to the story. Including this type of gratuitous ‘information’ does nothing to inform the public and only serves to reinforce anti-immigrant stereotypes such as that of the previous poster. It’s similar to the compulsive need of some journalists to inform readers of the skin color of perpetrators and victims when crimes are reported on. Immigrants, like gays, are in general more likely to be victims of hate crimes than perpetrators.