Man pleads guilty to violent homophobic attack after bragging online
Brandon Michael Wiley pleaded guilty over the homophobic attack (Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office)
A Tennessee man has pleaded guilty to a violent homophobic attack, after he bragged about it and shared bloody selfies on social media.
24-year-old Brandon Michael Wiley pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault on Friday (April 5), over the incident.
Wiley faced charges after savagely beating the gay man at a bar in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on July 9, 2018, leaving him with broken nose and fractured orbital sockets.
The victim was hospitalised after the violent attack, and required extensive hospital treatment.
Brandon Wiley claimed homophobic attack victim sexually assaulted him
According to the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, Wiley had told the police that the victim had “grabbed his junk and molested him” prior to the attack, but CCTV of the altercation did not line up with Wiley’s version of events, and did not show touching prior to the attack.
The victim told police that he had propositioned Wiley, who responded with a violent assault.
A security guard also told police that he saw Wiley punching the victim.
The victim was hospitalised after the brutal homophobic attack in a Tennessee bar.
Police said that Wiley took to social media to share bloody selfies, repeating the false claim that the man had sexually assaulted him.
A police report explained: “Mr. Wiley had sent out several photos of himself covered in blood and was bragging about beating up a gay man for grabbing his penis.”
Tennessee man pleads guilty to aggravated assault charge
Wiley, of Lewisburg, Tennessee, had previously insisted the attack “wasn’t a hate crime” and described the charge as “hurtful.”
However, he entered a guilty plea ahead of his Rutherford County Circuit Court hearing.
Wiley’s sentencing is now set for June 28.
Judge Royce Taylor will determine Wiley’s sentencing, according to the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, but the offence carries a three-year minimum sentence.
