Crime watch

Trans woman suffers broken jaw in heinous bathroom attack

Fred Costanza

Police in Oregon have jailed a man for a brutal attack on a homeless, transgender woman that left her with a broken jaw.

Fred Costanza of Blackfoot, Idaho now faces the possibility of hate crime charges and is being held on $140,000 bail in connection with the attack. The victim, Lauren Jackson, testified before a grand jury on Thursday.

Related: Friends say Dayton shooter’s slain sibling was a transgender man

The attack happened at Agate Beach State Park in Newport, Oregon August 24. Jackson stopped to use the public ladies room there. Apparently, this panicked several other bystanders, who told Costanza that a transgender woman had entered the ladies room. Costanza then entered the restroom and attacked Jackson, pulling her by the hair and punching her ten times. The attack left her with multiple breaks in her jaw. She will require multiple surgeries to address the damage.

Demonstrators from local churches and queer advocacy groups gathered outside the courthouse during Jackson’s grand jury testimony to show their support for the woman. At the time of this writing, the district attorney has not announced if he will pursue hate crime charges in the matter.

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