ASBO teen jailed for homophobic attack
A teenager has been jailed for six years after being found guilty for his part in a homophobic attack on a man in Cheltenham.
Steven Aubrey, 18, of Crabtree Place, Cheltenham, was 17 when he dragged Ian Mason, 33, out of his car and subjected him to a series of punches and kicks.
The attack took place in a venue known by the police to be linked to gay cruising.
Aubrey pleaded guilty to assault causing grievous bodily harm, theft, aggravated vehicle taking and the breach of an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO).
His friends wo alsop took part in the attack where James Chamberlain, 20, and Michael Graham, 19, also of Cheltenham, who were each jailed for three years and nine months for GBH, theft, aggravated travelling in a vehicle, and arson.
The teen’s girlfriend Katie Henry, 21, admitted two counts of being carried in a stolen vehicle was given a six month deferred sentence.
The court was told that Aubrey stole en an Astra car on January 15 in order to travel with his girlfriend (Henry) to Cheltenham to fight with another girl. On route they picked up friends Chamberlain and Graham and process Barrow Wake viewpoint at Birdlip, where the attack on Mr Mason occurred.
Detective Sergeant Alistair Armstrong, who led the told the Gloucester Citizen: “This was a vicious and deliberate attack on a victim who was targeted on the basis of his sexuality.”
