Gay Man Tortured in NY Hate Crime

As a rash of gay teen suicides turns the spotlight to homophobia, a shocking crime reveals just how bad it can be. Nine men, ranging in age from 16 to 23 and calling themselves the Latin King Goonies, lured a 30-year-old gay man to a Bronx building last Sunday, telling them they were having a party. Instead, when he arrived, they beat, burned, and sodomized him for hours, along with two younger men they had spotted him with earlier. The attackers even sent a group member to the man’s brother’s home and robbed him of $1,000 in cash. “It makes you sick,” said New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Seven suspects have been arrested on charges of abduction, unlawful imprisonment, and sodomy—all as hate crimes—and police are looking for two more.