Foreign Affairs

Five Teens Arrested For Alleged Homophobic Attack In London

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British police arrested five teenagers in connection with an alleged attack on a lesbian couple who were on a London night bus early in the morning on May 30.

Melania Geymonat, 28, from Uruguay and her American partner Chris, 29, (who has not provided her last name) were allegedly attacked after a group of boys began heckling them to kiss, CBS News reported. The teenage boys began to throw coins at them and then assaulted the couple when they refused to kiss, according to Geymonat and Chris.

Police arrested four boys between 15 and 18 years old Friday in connection with the assault and for an alleged robbery, Metropolitan Police announced. Police arrested a fifth boy, 16, Saturday. They are suspected of robbing the women after beating them.

“This was a disgusting, misogynistic attack,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a tweet.

This was a disgusting, misogynistic attack. Hate crimes against the LGBT+ community will not be tolerated in London.

The @metpoliceuk are investigating and appealing for witnesses. If you have any information – call 101. https://t.co/4zSqxyE6IP

— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 7, 2019

“This was a sickening attack and my thoughts are with the couple affected,” Prime Minister Theresa May said, according to CNN. “Nobody should ever have to hide who they are or who they love and we must work together to eradicate unacceptable violence towards the LGBT community.”

Homophobic hate crimes have increased in London in recent years, according to the Metropolitan Police crime dashboard. There were a reported 2,308 homophobic hate crimes in 2018. This is 820 more crimes than in 2014.

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