A 40-year-old Brooklyn man was indicted earlier this month on charges of assault as a hate crime after he allegedly hit a transgendered woman with a chair inside a Bed-Stuy homeless shelter on Christmas day.
According to the investigation, at approximately 6:15 p.m. on December 25, the victim – a 31-year-old trans female and resident of the shelter, located at 357 Marcus Garvey Boulevard – was walking down a hallway towards the bathroom when she heard someone running toward her from behind.
She then allegedly turned and saw the defendant – Kane Sekou, of Bed-Stuy – running toward her with a chair, which he is said to have used to strike the victim across the back. He allegedly did all this while yelling homophobic slurs at her, which he is said to have continued making even when police arrived.
Sekou was ordered held on $20,000 bail and is to return to court on March 14. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count.
“This cowardly and unprovoked attack in which an innocent woman was assaulted simply because she is transgendered is despicable,” said District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “In Brooklyn, we will not tolerate bias-motivated crimes of any kind. We now intend to hold the defendant accountable.”
The case was investigated by New York City Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force.
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