A Brooklyn man has been charged with second-degree assault as a hate crime in connection to a September incident in which he allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs at another man and attacked him with a taser,
CBS News reports that Joseph Desmond, 23, was arraigned on Tuesday, and saddled with additional second-degree aggravated harassment and second-degree harassment charges stemming from the attack on an unnamed 23-year-old victim in Ridgewood, Queens.
Desmond’s victim was able to call police despite suffering chest pains from the assault and Desmond was quickly arrested nearby. New York’s Hate Crimes Act of 2000 includes attacks based on a victims actual or perceived sexual orientation.
“Crimes of hate such as this random and senseless attack will never be tolerated here in Queens County,” says Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “When they do regrettably occur, they will be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Every person has the right to feel safe to walk the streets without being harassed or assaulted based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.”
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