Dec. 1, 2015 By Michael Florio
A man was sexually assaulted and robbed by a group of men shouting gay slurs early Monday, representing the second possible hate crime this week in Jackson Heights.
The 23-year-old victim was beaten and sexually assaulted by three men on 37th Avenue and 83rd Street, police said.
The victim had just left a restaurant on 81st Street and Roosevelt Ave, and was followed along Roosevelt Ave to 83rd Street. He tried to make a run for it but the three suspects caught up with him on 37th Ave and 83rd Street.
The men then went on to beat, rob and sexually assault him, according to police.
The victim was brought to Elmhurst Hospital.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the crime.
This is the second hate crime in Jackson Heights since Sunday, as a 35-year-old transgender woman was brutally beaten outside of her 93rd Street home early Sunday morning.
The victim of that crime was also taken to Elmhurst Hospital and is being treated for facial and cranium fractures and bleeding in the brain.
“I am shocked and outraged by these two atrocities that occurred just hours apart early Sunday morning in Jackson Heights,” Councilman Daniel Dromm in a statement.
“The survivors of these attacks may have been targeted because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. If true, these assaults are attempts to strike fear in the heart of the LGBT community and the neighborhood at large. We will not tolerate hate.”
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