A British judge has found two Polish men guilty of attacking a gay couple in London’s Hampstead area last July but decided not to impose prison sentences.
Mariusz Smietana, 46, and Dariusz Wawrzenczyk, 37, attacked Alex Grant, 34, and his 32-year-old partner as they made their way home from Hampstead Heath in London on 1 July last year.
The two men were convicted of assault by beating following a trial at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court. The court was told the couple were holding hands as they walked home from Highgate Men’s Ponds, where they had been swimming.
As they walked along Mansfield Road in Gospel Oak, Camden, the two men approached them, spat at them and shouted homophobic slurs in Polish.
Prosecutor René De Silva said the defendants spat on the couple’s legs before Smietana chased them down the street and threw fruit at them, which he had taken from a shop without paying.
The couple called police and sought shelter in a nearby pub. Officers arrested the two men at the scene.
The court heard that Grant’s partner had moved to the United Kingdom from Turkey for “the chance to live free and openly as a gay man”. He said that since the attack he had lost confidence in going out at night and no longer felt comfortable showing affection in public.
In a statement to the court, Grant said he lived in fear of encountering the two men again and that the attack had changed how safe he felt in his community.
“The hate and vitriol we encountered that night has made me realise that, even today, I am, as a gay man, still vulnerable to violent homophobia,” he said.
District Judge Vanessa Lloyd said she accepted that both offenders had experienced difficulties in their lives. However, because they continued to deny their actions, she could not conclude that they had shown remorse. The incident was captured on CCTV.
Smietana, of Wembley, and Wawrzenczyk, of Tottenham, were sentenced to community orders. Each must complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days as part of a 12-month order.
Both men were also ordered to pay court costs of £439 (approximately AUD$839).
