New York – The four men who brutally beat singer, performer and Gay community icon, Kevin Aviance on an East Village street this past June while yelling anti-gay epithets pleaded guilty yesterday to charges related to the attack.
The four: Akino George, Gregory Archie, Jarell Sears and Gerard Johnson had earlier admitted to the attack on Aviance.
According to police, the four began following Aviance around 1:30AM on June 10, and called him derogatory names. They threw two garbage bags and a paint can at the singer before attacking him, police said.
The defendants punched and kicked Aviance, 39, in the face and body, breaking his jaw, bruising his knee and causing other injuries, police said. Passers-by yelled for the attack to stop, and when it was over a man walked Aviance to a hospital.
The four entered their pleas before state Supreme Court Justice James Yates.
Johnson, 17, of Manhattan, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault as a hate crime in exchange for a sentence of 15 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision. He will be sentenced April 13.
George, 21, of the Bronx, and Sears, 21, of Newark, NJ, pleaded guilty to first-degree gang assault and will receive prison terms of eight years with five years of post-release supervision. They will be sentenced April 6.
Archie, 19, of Manhattan, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as a hate crime and was promised a sentence of six years in prison with three years of post-release supervision. He will be sentenced May 10.
"We are so pleased and relieved for the City's LGTB community, and for Kevin," said Clarence Patton, the Anti-Violence Project's Executive Director. "Clearly, these pleas can offer some level of justice and closure for him," said Patton.
"Kevin has truly shown how strong the LGTB people who've been victimized by hate can be; that strength is something that we see everyday at the Anti-Violence Project, but because of Kevin's public face, now so many others have witnessed it," concluded Patton.
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The New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project is the nation's largest service agency for victims of bias crimes against the lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and HIV-affected communities. Since 1980, the Anti-Violence Project has provided counseling and advocacy for tens of thousands of survivors of bias-motivated and domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, HIV-related violence, and police misconduct. The Anti-Violence Project documents incidents of violence against and within LGTB communities, educates the public about the effects of violence, against or within our communities, and works to reform public policies impacting all lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and HIV-affected people.
The Anti-Violence Project provides free and confidential assistance to crime victims through its 24-hour bilingual hotline (212-714-1141).
