Man says victim he violently assaulted threatened to out him on Facebook
A man who violently assaulted his victim has denied that he was motivated by his sexuality, but said that he did it “to protect” himself from being outed.
Devin Norman, a 26 year old from Corinth, Mississippi, has posted images of his horrific facial injuries after the attack by 22-year-old James Scott.
Scott has now admitted he was responsible for the attack, but said he was not motivated by Norman’s sexuality.
Instead he said Norman had threatened to out him as bisexual on Facebook by sharing photos shared between the pair.
He told WREG: “I cannot see how it could be a hate crime. I don’t even have an emotional hatred for him. The only thing I dislike about it was that he took something from me…I should have know better. I should have been more of an adult. I should have thought before I acted.”
According to witnesses, Scott kicked Norman in the face six or seven times, and he was left with serious facial injuries including a broken cheekbone.
It is liikely that Scott’s charges will be upgraded from assault to aggravated assault, since it has transpired that Norman has broken bones.
Chief Ralph Dance with the Corinth Police Department, investigating said: “It’s my understanding of if it’s a hate crime it had to be based merely on the fact he was homosexual… We don’t have that here.”
The FBI is currently attempting to find out whether a federal law was broken by Scott.
