Teens accused of assaulting transgender student in Massachusetts will not face hate crime charges

GLOUCESTER. Police are now charging three teenagers accused of beating a transgender student in Gloucester, Massachusetts. three months agobut they will not be charged with hate crimes.

Gloucester Hate Crime Allegation

Sixteen-year-old Jayden Tkaczyk, who says he is transgender, reported WBZ-TV On August 30, he went to a school party in the woods at Goose Cove Reservation and was attacked.

Tkachyk said that it all started with the fact that he and another person exchanged words, after which a group of teenagers rushed at him and beat him. He ended up in the hospital.

“I was scared. I ran through the forest, not knowing what to do. I called the police and yelled at the police on the phone. I said, “Help me, help me, I need help.” I’m scared,” Tkachyk told WBZ in September. “Being bullied all your life is bad, but being dumped is even worse.”

His mother said her son was targeted because he is transgender.

“Stomping on my son’s head, saying the insult is a hate crime,” Nicole Tkaczyk told WBZ.

Gloucester Police Chief Ed Conley assigned a detective with special training in hate crimes to handle the case.

Attack and battery charging

On Friday, Gloucester police said they would be charging the three boys with assault and battery. Two of them are 17 years old, the third is 16.

But in a statement, Conley said that “the evidence gathered during the investigation does not conclusively support allegations of hate crimes.”

“Our department conducted a meticulous, thorough and compassionate investigation, and the charges are consistent with the evidence,” Conley said. “Our thoughts remain with the victim who suffered significant injuries in this attack.”

The three teenagers, who were not identified because of their ages, will now appear before a clerk magistrate who will determine if there is probable cause to file charges.