A Bushwick man has been charged with second-degree assault as a hate crime in regards to an assault that took place in Ridgewood on September 25th. According to prosecutors, Joseph Desmond, 23, targeted an unidentified 23-year-old victim because he believed he was homesexual. And if you're a sick, homophobic sociopath, you know the best way to cope with your deeply repressed sexual issues is to go around zapping people with tasers.
Desmond allegedly approached his victim, who was standing at the intersection of Gates Avenue and Fairview Avenue at 8:10 p.m., and called him an anti-gay slur, then shocked him with a taser to his torso and ran away. The victim, who sustained chest pains, called the police, and Desmond was arrested in the courtyard of a nearby building. Desmond is also charged with second-degree assault, second-degree aggravated harassment, and second-degree harassment. (Pre-emptive note to TASER publicists: the Queens DA says the suspect used a taser in the press release [pdf], so take it up with him.)
“Crimes of hate - such as this random and senseless attack - will never be tolerated here in Queens County," Queens DA Richard A. Brown said in a statement. "When they do, regrettably, occur, they will be condemned in the strongest possible terms." Though not nearly as severe, the hate crime allegations recall the assault on Jack Price, a gay man who sustained a broken jaw, broken ribs, and collapsed lung after being beaten by two men who called him gay slurs in College Point, Queens. His assailants were ultimately sentenced to 8 and 12 years in prison, respectively.
