Gay Panic Leads Straight Man To Assault, Permanently Disfigure Other Straight Man

An outrageous physical assault based on gay panic has left one British man with metal plates fitted to his face permanently for the rest of his life, even though he and his attacker are both admittedly heterosexual.

The assault happened last December at Space nightclub in Leeds, around 4:30am. According to court transcripts, the 24-year-old victim was “minding his own business” whilst drinking alone at the bar, when 28-year-old Adam Betteridge approached him and delivered “a single blow” that did so much damage it required immediate hospitalization.

Betteridge claimed in court proceedings that the victim had tried to kiss him in a “sexual manner,” even though CCTV cameras that captured the entire incident show nothing of the sort.

Immediately after the assault, Betteridge told police “You know what gays are like. What can you do?”

Before delivering the verdict, Judge Tom Bayliss noted once again that the victim does not identify as gay, and that even if he did, that information would be “immaterial.”

“Your reaction was not an instinctive reaction but a considered reaction,” Bayliss said. “I have had the advantage of seeing the CCTV which shows you approaching the victim who was simply minding his own business when you approached him and you felled him with a single blow.”

Betteridge was sentenced to 12 months in jail after pleading guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm.