Teens who brutally beat up lesbian couple in 'homophobic' bus attack after they refused to kiss plead guilty
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Three teenagers pleaded guilty on Thursday, November 28, to attacking a lesbian couple on a bus in London after the women said they refused to kiss for the boys' entertainment.
The news came to light last year as the women, identified as Melania Geymonat of Uruguay and American Christine Hannigan, took to social media to share a picture of their bloodied selves after their encounter in May.
Geymonat and Hannigan were punched multiple times in the face, and the entire confrontation was captured on surveillance video released by the Metropolitan Police.
Prosecutor Saira Khan, while addressing the judge on Thursday, said that before the attack, one of the teenagers threw coins at the women because the boys saw the couple as "some form of entertainment", according to a Sky News report.
The women, while speaking to BBC after the attack, had said that the teens "surrounded us and started saying really aggressive stuff, things about sexual positions, lesbians and claiming we could kiss so they could watch us."
The 28-year-old Geymonat also said that the teens stole a phone and a handbag from the duo. While Hannigan told the outlet: "I was and still am angry. It was scary, but this is not a novel situation."
The teenagers, who have not been identified, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including committing hate crimes and handling stolen property, the London Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
The suspects, two 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old are set to be sentenced on December 23. A fourth suspect was also arrested in connection with the incident, however, charges against the teen have been dropped.
Judge Susan Williams, during the hearing, said that the abuse "was quite clearly directed towards this couple because of who they are".
The Head of Transport Policing and Community Safety at Transport for London, Mandy McGregor, also released a statement, saying: "This sickening incident was utterly unacceptable. Homophobic abuse is a hate crime and won’t be tolerated on our network."