An Idaho man is convicted of a hate crime for attacking a transwoman who used the women’s restroom at a local park last year.
According to CNN, Lauren Jackson visited Agata State Beach Park in Newport, Oregon and stopped to use the women’s restroom. She was confronted by Fred Constanza,37, when he spotted her entering the bathroom. Jackson was hit by Constanza ten times and held her hair so she couldn’t escape to safety. Newport police reported Jackson was found with a broken jaw and arrested Constanza later that day.
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He entered a not-guilty plea in September and remained in jail until his trial in January.
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Before his trial, a jury found Constanza guilty on three counts for first-degree bias crime, second-degree assault, and harassment. CNN noted two months before the attack that the state’s lawmakers updated their hate crime legislation and added “gender identity” as a protective class.
Jackson says the attack hasn’t stopped her from living her life and says she continues to use the women’s restroom.
“I believe that people are inherently good and that I live in a kind world. I don’t think I did anything wrong, and I don’t want to live in fear. I came here searching for a community and I found it. “
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