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UK: Jail for terrorizing gays next door

Fri 25 Apr 2008 In: International News View at Wayback

A British court has sentenced a woman to 150 days in prison and her daughter to two years of supervised probation for a terror campaign against the gay couple who lived next door. The court was told that the pair began harassing Michael Harris and Shires Crichton, of Kingston, Kent, after the couple sided with another neighbour in a dispute, reports 365gay.com. From March until May 2007, Karen Reeves, 44, and Christie Myles, 22, yelled homophobic remarks at the couple - and on one occasion Reeves drove her car at one of the men. "Although there was no evidence of violence, the psychological affect on the victims has been far reaching," Judge Roger Scrase told Reeves during her sentencing. "In your case there are strong aggravating factors. Those factors are that you made homophobic gestures and remarks over an extended period and you showed no remorse." He went on to say that Myles had been influenced by her mother and played a minor role in the abuse. In addition to the prison sentence, Scrase banned the pair from the village where the gay couple live and ordered the women not to have any contact with either man. Harris and Chichton said they were relieved by the sentence, but Reeves' lawyer said the prison sentence will be appealed.    

Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff

First published: Friday, 25th April 2008 - 12:10pm

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