A U.K. man says he is terrified to leave his home after being the target of a vicious, unprovoked antigay attack.
58-year-old Jimmy Sinclair was walking to a friend’s house on the afternoon of February 20 when a teenager approached him.
“This is just a taste of what you’re going to get!” the 17-year-old snarled.
And the next thing Sinclair knew, he was in excruciating pain.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
“My face started burning and my skin was peeling off,” he recalls. “It was like my skin was frothing. I knew I had to wash the liquid off my face quickly so I rushed home as fast as I could.”
The teenager had sprayed acid in Sinclair’s face.
After washing it off, Sinclair raced himself to the hospital, where a doctor informed him that, had the liquid gotten into his eyes, he likely would have been blinded.
Sinclair’s partner, Gary Norris, is convinced the attack was premeditated and motivated by homophobia.
“It was definitely a homophobic hate crime without a shadow of a doubt,” he says.
According to Norris, just a few days earlier Sinclair was approached by the same teenager in a different location and threatened.
“He walked up to Jimmy, got right in his face and said ‘you’re going to get it’,” he says.
As a result of the attack, Sinclair, who performs as a drag queen, says he is terrified to leave him house.
“I’m just frightened to go out now,” Sinclair says. “I can’t just pop out and go and see my friends like I used to. I’m just so frightened that I am going to be attacked again.”
The attacker was arrested but released on bail. A hearing is scheduled for March 21.
