Eight members of a Bronx gang who allegedly beat and tortured a new recruit they thought was gay and two other men in separate attacks early this week have been arrested on numerous charges, including hate crimes, police said.
The alleged attacks came amid heightened attention nationwide to anti-gay bullying after a string of suicides last month were attributed to harassment they had suffered.
The members of the gang, the Latin King Goonies, are being held on charges of burglary, robbery, assault, menacing, unlawful imprisonment and criminal sex acts, which are being added as a hate crime, police said.
One other was also being sought in the incident.
New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the first of the alleged assaults occurred at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
In the first incident, gang members allegedly forced a 17-year-old potential recruit for the street gang to an empty apartment in the Bronx that they used for parties and sex, Kelly said.
ABCNews
