After being taunted for being a lesbian, a woman in the city of Richmond was "repeatedly raped and left naked outside an abandoned apartment building" by four strangers on December 13.
Detectives say the 28-year-old victim was attacked Dec. 13 after she got out of her car, which bore a rainbow gay pride sticker. The men, who ranged from their late teens to their 30s, made comments indicating they knew her sexual orientation, said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan.
The rape started when one of the attackers hit her "with a blunt object, ordered her to disrobe and sexually assaulted her with the help of the other men." Unless the men in question aren't brutally and slowly murdered beforehand by citizens, a $10,000 reward is being offered for their capture. One of the men, it seems, went by the nickname "Blue" and another was called "Pato," according to police.
The rape is (correctly) being considered a hate crime by police. According to Avy Skolnik, a coordinator with the New York-based National Coalition of Anti-Violence Program, "Anytime there is an anti-LGBT initiative, we tend to see spikes both in the numbers and the severity of attacks ... People feel this extra entitlement to act out their prejudice." Gay rights advocates say that hate crimes based on sexual orientation have increased nationwide over the last month.