Defence lawyer: goth-bashing not hate

by Feòrag

United States: Christian thugs allegedly attacked a New York man with a metal pipe because of his Satanist beliefs. According to Daniel Romano, his attackers had been harassing him comstantly for over a month and been spreading malicious gossip about him.

Paul Rotondi and Frank Scarpinito, both 18, allegedly pounced on Romano, who wears black nail polish and an inverted crucifix symbolizing his rejection of Jesus, as he walked to meet his mother at a laundermat.

They spread rumors around the neighborhood that I eat babies and go down to the docks, pick up hookers and kill them, Romano told the Daily News. Ignorance often costs a lot of people their lives.

Romano claims to be a member of the Church of Satan, though the local head of that organisation says that is not true, cast doubt upon the whole story and suggested that Romano is nothing more than a spooky kid. Which contrasts interestingly with something Rotondi is claimed to have said to the police:

You are going to find my prints on there,he told cops at the 104th Precinct stationhouse, referring to the pipe. But then he insisted, I did not hit anyone with it, authorities said.

Meanwhile, Rotondi and Scarpinito have been charged under hate crimes legislation, which appears to apply to all religions without discrimination, whether or not they are members of a church, much to the distress of their lawyer.

This is an abuse of the hate crime law, he said. What's next - the nerds, the preppies ...? Where are you going to draw the line?

Qns. Satanist catches hell - New York Daily News, 12th January 2005.