Mich. Teen Pleads Guilty To Assault, Sentenced To Months In Prison

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) – One of two teens accused of beating a 15-year-old boy because he is gay will spend six to nine months in juvenile detention after pleading guilty to aggravated assault.

The 16-year-old defendant was sentenced Monday in Kalamazoo County Family Court.

Portage’s Steve Harmon says he was attacked Aug. 13 in a Portage parking lot. He says his attackers used anti-gay slurs as they struck him about 20 times in the head and face.

The attackers broke Harmon’s cheek bone and gave him two black eyes, a swollen lip and scratches.

Police say he apparently was targeted because of his sexual orientation.

The two defendants weren’t charged with a hate crime because Michigan’s ethnic-intimidation law doesn’t address sexual orientation.

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