News (USA)

2 Texas men get 15-year sentences for torture of gay man

2 Texas men get 15-year sentences for torture of gay man

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Two South Texas men have received the maximum 15-year sentences in federal prison after pleading guilty to federal hate crime charges in the March 2012 torture of a gay African-American man in Corpus Christi.

Ramiro Serrata Jr. and Jimmy Garza were sentenced Feb. 17 in Corpus Christi by Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head.

Both men must pay the victim $10,800 in restitution, serve three years of supervised release and register as sex offenders. Both pleaded guilty last September.

Garza, who is 33, and Serrata, who is 23, admitted luring the man to an apartment and, for three hours, punching, kicking and assaulting him with various weapons, including a frying pan, a battery-filled sock, a belt and a broomstick.

They taunted him with racist and homophobic epithets.

© 2016, Associated Press, All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Don't forget to share:

Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

Indiana House committee tosses hate crimes bill

Previous article

Tennessee senate: OK to deny counseling to LGBT patients due to religious beliefs

Next article