Atlanta police Sgt. John Chafee reported that three people were arrested after allegedly assaulting a child “because of his sexual orientation.”
Atlanta police arrested three people last week after a 12-year-old boy had the word “gay” cut into his hair and abused in a disturbing attack posted on social media.
3 arrested in Georgia after allegedly assaulting boy for being gay
Lorkeyla Jamia Spencer, 19, and Brittney Monique Mills, 35, remained in the Fulton County Jail Monday morning and are charged with child cruelty, according to arrest records and a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
Gaye’s Instagram, an online publication that focuses on LGBTQ issues within the black community, posted the disturbing images last month, showing a boy being berated by what appeared to be two women behind the camera and a man in front.
“You keep doing gay shit,” the man tells the boy. The man then turns the boy’s head toward the camera, showing the word “gay” shaved into his scalp.
“You think this on the side of your head for no reason, is that what you think?” the man says before slapping the boy hard on the side of the head.
The man punched and shoved the boy in the video.
“This was a difficult video to watch when you see a young child being abused like that,” said Atlanta police Sgt. John Chafee.
Police did not specify what relationship the suspects had with the child.
“Investigators became aware of a video posted on social media that showed what appeared to be a young boy being abused and it appeared that he was being abused because of his sexual orientation,” Chafee continued
“We are pleased with the feedback we received from the community that helped us with this.”
