A man who left a 16-year-old boy 'struggling to breathe' after strangling him in a unprovoked homophobic attack told him “I am going to choke you out if you are gay”.
Marc Bevan, 39, of Kirkfield Grove, Rock Ferry, pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday. Detailing the incident that took place back in November 2021, Gerald Baxter, prosecuting, told the court that the teen victim and his friends had been on Southport Pier when one of them made a joke.
The comment was overheard by the defendant, who then approached the group and said “what did you just say to me”, and called the victim a “f****t”. When the victim told Bevan the joke was not about him and that he shouldn't be using the slur, he started behaving aggressively, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The teenagers tried to run away but they were pursued by the defendant, which caused the 16-year-old to drop his bike as he was trying to escape.
He asked “are you really going to punch me?”, before Bevan started hitting him repeatedly and grabbed him by the throat. The victim then fell to the floor, at which point Bevan began kicking his legs and head.
The youngster's friend witnessed the assault and told investigators that she heard Bevan say “I am going to choke you out if you are gay”, and described the victim as “struggling to breathe”. A personal statement written by the victim read: “After the attack, I came home shocked that anyone would want to put someone through what I had just been through.
“It left me feeling scared to go out and I did not go out for quite some time.” The victim said he suffers anxiety and panic attacks, and that waiting for a trial before Bevan eventually pleaded guilty on the day, added more stress to the ordeal.
He added: “The injuries I had were painful, but the memory of him attacking me hurt even more. I could not breathe with his hands around my neck and I thought I would pass out or worse.”
Bevan has 20 previous convictions and was formerly sentenced to 11 years in prison over an arson charge when he was 23. He also has convictions for threatening behaviour, burglary, theft, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, criminal damage, failure to surrender, damaging property, and possessing a bladed article.
Helen Chenery, defending, told the court that these offences were carried out by Bevan when he was much younger and that, since being released from prison, he had remained out of trouble for a decade.
She added that her client was deeply regretful for his actions, and emphasised that Bevan disputes having any prejudice towards anyone, but he does accept that his actions did demonstrate hostility.
Ms Chenery told the court that since his release from prison, Bevan has successfully gained employment and is highly regarded in his field, and the probation service described him as having made “outstanding progress”. She said: “He accepts that he could have entered pleas at an earlier stage and through me, apologises to the victim for any further stress caused. He accepts that he has buried his head in the sand.”
In sentencing, Judge Stuart Driver KC said: “Your victim was a young person of 16, having a peaceful night with his friends, and he did nothing to provoke you but you launched an attack upon him in which you punched him several times including to the face.
“You then started to choke him for a significant time until his face was changing colour and he could not speak. You then let him go and as he slumped to the floor, you kicked him, including to the head, it is a surprise he was not hurt more.”
Judge Driver added: “During the incident, you demonstrated hostility towards the young person based on his presumed orientation, it was clearly a homophobic attack.” Bevan was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and told his family he was sorry as he was taken to the cells.
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