Police in Illinois, USA, have arrested two teenagers over a brutal attack that saw 19-year-old lesbian Kady Grass hospitalised with severe injuries.
The teenager was allegedly attacked by two male teenagers after she went to use the women’s bathroom at a McDonalds store in Carpenterville on 13th May.
Grass was in town to attend her 13-year-old cousin’s choir concert, after the show they headed to the local McDonalds. She has shared that as she went to enter the female bathroom strangers sitting nearby called her a “faggot”.
“How it started was because I’m a lesbian — just because I walked into the woman’s bathroom, and I looked the way I look,” Grass told LGBT Nation.
When Grass responded that she was a lesbian, its alleged the two teenage boys attacked her, punching and kicking her until she lost consciousness. Grass was later treated for severe injuries including a hemorrhage to her eye, a fractured nose, cuts and bruises.
Police have arrested 19-year-old man John Kammrad and taken him into custody. While a second suspect, a 16-year-old turned himself into police and will appear before a juvenile court.
Kammrad was charged with aggravated battery, great bodily harm, aggravated battery in a public place, mob action, and more. Police and local prosecutors have decided not to add hate crime charges.
Kady Grass called for the full force of the law to be deployed, and has called for the additional charges.
“I genuinely think that their plan was to kill me, and they didn’t care if they ended my life that day,” she said. “This will affect me for the rest of my life.” she told LGBT Nation.
“This should have never happened just because I am the way I am, and it should have never happened just because I was trying to use the bathroom,” she said. “But I don’t want people to be scared to stand up for themselves because they think that someone will hurt them all the time. I want to be seen as someone that is strong because they tried to ruin my life, but instead they ruined their own.”
A GoFundMe launched to help her with medical and legal costs hoped to raise $5,000. So far people around the globe have sent over $60,000 her way.
The State Attorney’s Office has since announced they are considering bringing the additional hate crme charges.
“I want to assure the public that my office is conducting a thorough and unbiased review of this case to determine if adding additional charges such as Hate Crime is appropriate,” Kane County State’s attorney Jamie Mosser said in a statement on Wednesday.
“I am committed to pursuing justice based on the full facts of the case.” he added.
