Lauren Jackson, a homeless transgender woman who recently moved from Utah to Oregon, was beaten up on Aug. 24 by a man named Fred Joseph Costanza after she used a women’s restroom at the Agate Beach State Park in Newport, Portland.
According to komonews.com, Costanza’s wife had used the bathroom with Jackson and then complained to him about “being harassed by a man in the women’s bathroom.”
Related: DC police release photos of gang of men who attacked a trans woman in gas station lobby
Costanza, who was reportedly visiting from Blackfoot Idaho and was drunk at the time of the attack, held Jackson by the hair and punched her in the face more than 10 times, fracturing her jaw and skull. Medical professionals at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland say that she’ll need reconstructive surgery.
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According to the Newport News Times, Costanza was arrested two days later and charged with “second degree, menacing, disorderly conduct in the second degree and harassment.” His bail was set at $140,000, and an upcoming hearing on Thursday will decide whether he’ll be charged with a hate crime.
Komonews.com writes that a Newport Police Department report of the attack shows that “Costanza is unemployed, a multi-state offender and was previously arrested for failure to appear in another case. He was also drunk at the time of his arrest.”
The outlet also says small group of clergy and local officials gathered outside the Lincoln County Courthouse to show their support for Jackson.
Lincoln County Commissioner Claire Hall said, “Well, frankly, it felt like a kick in the gut. I’m sad. I’m angry. I’m embarrassed for my community. The fact that the person was not a local really doesn’t make a lot of difference. It certainly doesn’t lessen Lauren’s suffering.”
According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, nearly one in ten (9%) respondents were physically attacked in the past year because of being transgender.
