Gay Man, 22, Taunted and Beaten in Lowell

James Nickola, 22, was attacked in Lowell on Friday night while walking through a residential neighborhood. His attackers allegedly yelled anti-gay slurs while beating him. One of his attackers yelled, "We don't want you in our neighborhood".

He told officers that three men began to taunt him as he walked along Bridge Street in Lowell. They caught up with him on West Fourth Street where he was jumped and beaten while being called a "faggot."

He was able to make his way to the Lowell police station, his face covered in blood. His attackers beat him so bad, while shouting homophobic slurs at him, they nearly tore off his bottom lip.

Although prosecutors asked that his attackers be held on $2,500 cash bail, a Lowell District Court judge released the three 19-year-olds on personal recognizance with the condition that each report to probation and abide by a 10 pm to 6 am curfew.

The men who attacked Nickola face three charges: violation of constitutional rights with bodily injury, assault and battery, and mayhem.

District Attorney Gerald Leone is treating the case as a serious hate crime.

"We take our responsibility to protect citizens' rights and liberties extremely seriously," said Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. "To the extent that hatred of any kind is a motivation to target a particular person or group, we place a high priority on prosecuting those defendants and sending a strong message that that type of hatred will not be tolerated."

Read the Lowell Sun article here.
Read the Boston Globe article here.