NEWS: Gay Teen Arrested for Filing False Hate Crime Report

[Tragic Rabbit]

Gay Teen Arrested for Filing False Hate Crime Report

By 365gay Newscenter Staff

07.24.2008 5:19pm EDT

(Anderson County, S.C.) An 18-year-old, who had told police he was beaten by his father after attending a gay pride parade, was charged Thursday with filing a false police report.

Dwight Clark Ables told police last week that his father yelled, swung the bat and tried to "cast the demon of homosexuality out of him."

He claimed his 49-year-old father prayed as he swung the bat and then threw him out of the house. He also said that several days later, when the teen returned home to pick up his clothes, he was punched.

In the report he filed with police, the teen said that his father "has a problem with him being gay and that is why he hit him with the baseball bat."

Investigators said Thursday they had found no evidence to support any of the allegations.

Ables is being held in a detention center awaiting trial.

http://www.365gay.com/news/gay-teen-arrested/

[Cole Parker]

You've got to be kidding me!

C

[The Pecman]

Where's the mother in all this? Surely there was a witness to what went on.

If I were this kid's lawyer, I'd say, look: make a deal with the police, drop the charges, and get the hell outta dodge. Forget about trying to prosecute your father. These people don't want you. They're lousy parents. You're of legal age -- find a job, get some friends, and try to survive. Preferably in another town.

And be glad you didn't get hit and brain-damaged. As bad as this was psychologically, at least he can still walk and talk.

How a parent can do this to a kid is beyond me. Still, I understand to a point. I never officially came out to my parents when they were alive, but I think they didn't have any doubts, since I had been living with the same guy for 17 years when they finally passed away. But it was one of those things I knew they were uncomfortable about, so we just never talked about it. We were still very friendly, and they liked my partner very much. Avoidance seemed to be the best policy, and my brother and sister (who knew my parents just as well as I did), both warned me just not to bring it up. I don't regret not telling them, and I know on some level, they knew.

[colinian]

If he filed a false police report he should be arrested.

If the charges are true and there's police malfeasance that's a different story, and I hope he has a good attorney.

Colin :con_geek:

[Graeme]

I agree, Colin.

We can't automatically assume that the boy's story is correct. I've seen enough examples of adults using the 'gay' card to try to get what they want that I have to concede that it's possible that the boy made up the story to get back at his dad for some reason. I actually hope that that is the case, rather than the father being the maniac that he was originally made out to be.

As an example of an adult using the 'gay' card, we had a gay politician here in Victoria who was kicked out of the Liberal party. He claimed it was because his colleagues were homophobic. The fact that he crashed his taxpayer-funded car while drink-driving and then tried to bluster his way out of being charged had nothing to do with it....

[Cole Parker]

We don't have enough details. Did the father swing the bat and miss? He must have, or they'd at least have suggestive evidence. If the cops didn't want to believe, of course, then even if the kid had a busted arm, ribs and head, with no witnesses there'd still be no evidence, just one person's word against another's.

But if they arrested the kid, they must have investigated. I just don't like throwing a kid in jail because they can't prove what he claimed. Not being able to verify a story happens all the time; being jailed at that point for reporting it doesn't.

I doubt he'll be able to get a good lawyer. He's 18, probably has no money, and is up against a system that dislikes gays. I'd say he's in a world of hurt.

C