Three charged after trans teen ‘beaten, kicked into a rock and stomped on’
Jayden Tkaczyk was left with a broken nose and nerve damage after the alleged assault (Facebook)
Police have applied for charges to go ahead against three teenagers after a trans boy was allegedly assaulted following what they’ve described as a “months-long investigation.”
Gloucester Police, in Massachusetts, filed the charges on Friday (29 November).
The investigation came after a young trans man was allegedly assaulted and left with a broken nose in the city, about 30 miles from Boston, on 30 August. Police say they responded to report of an assault during a party in a wooded area in Gloucester.
Jayden Tkaczyk, 16 was kicked to the ground then had his face stomped on, his mother Jasmine claimed.
In a since deleted Facebook post she wrote her son was left with a broken nose after being beaten, kicked into a rock and stomped in the face while the alleged attackers used anti-LGBTQ+ slurs against him, according to USA Today.
“One second, I was having fun, the next second, I was on the ground getting my face stomped on,” Jayden also claimed while talking to NBC News in September.
Jasmine said her son has been routinely bullied at school for years because of his gender identity.
Evidence ‘did not ultimately support hate crime charges’
“This has always been my worst fear as a mom of a trans teen, getting that phone call that your son is in the hospital for getting beaten up,” she said.
A police update revealed that the three alleged assailants, aged 16 and 17, are set to face a clerk magistrate hearing where it will be decided if the assault and battery charges will go ahead.
Investigating officers said the individuals involved, including Jayden, knew each other.
“Our department conducted a meticulous, thorough and compassionate investigation and the resulting charges are consistent with the evidence,” police chief Edward Conley said.
While a hate-crime investigator was assigned to the case, the evidence did not support such charges, a police statement revealed.
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