Man who fractured a woman’s spine after she kissed a female friend on the subway pleads guilty
Allasheed Allah left a woman with a fractured spine in a violent homophobic attack. (Gothamist/Youtube)
A man who fractured a woman’s spine in a violent homophobic attack has pleaded guilty to committing a hate crime and will face up to three years in prison.
The 20-year-old victim was on a rush hour subway train travelling through Queens, New York, when she leaned in to kiss a female friend on the cheek, The New York Post reported.
“Kiss her again you d**e b****,” shouted Allasheed Allah, a 54-year-old from Manhattan, according to a court release.
The woman and her friend exited the train, at which point Allah followed them and struck the victim in the head and chest.
He then shoved her into a nearby pole, causing her to fall to the ground. She was reportedly treated for a fractured spine at a local hospital which she has now made a full recovery from.
Attacker identified by member of the public.
Allah initially fled the scene of the crime, which took place in November 2018, but was arrested a few days later after a tipster recognised him in a photo.
After pleading guilty to one count of third degree assault as a hate crime on Wednesday, October 2, a judge has warned the attacker that he faces between one and three years in prison.
“This kind of hate-inspired assault is intolerable and we won’t stand for it here in Queens County – the most diverse county in the country,” Acting District Attorney John Ryan said in a statement.
“The defendant will go to prison as a result of this vicious attack.”
Allah will return to a Queens criminal court on November 7 for sentencing.
Hate crimes rise in US.
A recent study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino revealed that hate crimes rose 9 percent in major US cities in 2018.
In New York there were 45 hate crimes motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation, the report said. Of the 19 major cities selected for analysis, 12 reported sexual orientation as one of the two most prominent factors.
