Man Gets Longest Term in County for Gay-Bashing

A man convicted in the mob beating of a gay man after the annual Los Angeles gay pride festival last June was ordered Thursday to spend a year in jail and five years on probation under terms of sentencing for hate crimes--the longest “gay-bashing” penalty ever in Los Angeles County, authorities said.

Walid Ali Fakhreddine, 20, of Sun Valley also was ordered to pay $12,500 in fines and restitution and to perform 200 hours of service at a gay social services agency, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ellen Aragon said. “This is the longest sentence we’ve gotten for gay-bashing,” said Aragon of the county’s organized crime unit, which handles crimes motivated by hatred of others’ religion, sexual orientation and race.

Fakhreddine is the oldest of eight people suspected in the attack, authorities said, but his was the only case to go to a jury trial. He was charged with two counts of violation of civil rights for attacking two men after the annual Los Angeles gay pride festival last June. He was acquitted in the attack on one of the victims, both of whom suffered minor injuries. Charges were sought against two boys, ages 16 and 17, but they were cleared in Juvenile Court because they could not be identified, authorities said.