Teenager was stripped naked, beaten and robbed for being gay
By Joshua Haigh
Police in Michigan are currently searching for a group of people that reportedly stripped, beat and robbed a teenager for being gay.
The entire assault was captured on camera after the victim was lured to an area around Edgewood School in Muskeogon Heights, Michigan.
In the video, one of the assailants can be seen grabbing the unnamed victim who pleas with his attackers to stop.
The video, which was uploaded to Facebook, also sees the attackers using racial slurs as they force him to strip naked. One of the attacks then tells the victim to run away as two women chase him, one of which is filming the attack.
The 17-year-old victim was released from Musekegon hospital after receiving treatment for cuts and bruises on his face.
According to Michigan Live, the attack occurred on the evening of Saturday November 4 in the city of Muskegon Heights.
Police Chief Joseph E. Thomas Jr., the man leading the investigation, told Michigan Live: “They beat him up because he’s gay.”
Thomas reveals he received a phone call at 8:30pm on November 4 from a citizen claiming to have spotted a naked man. A responding officer later found the victim walking to his aunt’s home naked.
After analysing the video, Thomas identified one of the suspects as an 18-year-old named Trevon Lee Godbolt. Local police announced a $500 reward for information on his whereabouts before finding and arresting him on Tuesday (November 7).
Thomas, however, believes another man and two women were also involved in the attack and states that Michigan police will be “investigating this fully.”
Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office has authorised two counts against Godbolt including unarmed robbery and unlawful imprisonment, both of which can carry up to 15 years in prison.
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