US: Man jailed for 30 months for beating disabled brother to ‘push the gay out of him’
An Ohio man has been sentenced to two and a half years in jail, after he tried to ‘push the gay out of’ his disabled brother by beating him.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Lawrence Featheroff, 38, was sentenced to just 30 months behind bars by judge Chris A Martin of Fairfield County Common Pleas Court.
The newspaper reports that he repeatedly punched and assaulted his 26-year-old disabled brother, Jason Meyers, in the house they shared with their aunt, uncle and Featheroff’s girlfriend, to try and turn him straight.
Featheroff had also reportedly threatened to hack his younger brother’s genitals off.
Meyers was described as developmentally disabled, but ‘reasonably high-functioning’.
Featheroff pleaded guilty to attempted complicity to commit felonious assault and abduction, but a greater charge of domestic violence was dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Police found Meyers had bruises on his face, a sprained ankle and a concussion on January 15, when they checked on him responding to a tip.
Meyers had told police that Featheroff’s, Featheroff ‘s girlfriend and a family friend had hit him repeatedly, and allowed him to eat only once a day.
According to detective Brian Lowe, the beatings were sparked when Meyers told his brother that he had sexual thoughts about men.
Lowe said that Featheroff had “wanted to toughen him up to push the gay out of him and make him a normal person”.
Meyers has since been removed from the home, and now lives in adult foster care.
The cases of Featheroff’s girlfriend Jamie Smith and family friend Brent Disbennet are still pending.
