A Gloucester man was jailed for 16 months today after a homophobic hate attack on his neighbour.
Piota Gwizdz, 31, of Midland Road, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm on a fellow Polish national on May 7 last year.
Gwizdz and two other males, one of whom has never been identified, targeted the victim in a 'premeditated' and 'sustained' attack, Recorder Edward Burgess QC was told at Gloucester Crown Court.
The judge said: “There is no doubt in my mind the victim was deliberately targeted because of his sexual orientation.
"He was plainly conscious of the high level of prejudice against homosexuals in the Polish community.
“He felt he had to conduct his personal life with a greater degree of care and secrecy than he would have wished, or frankly than he had to in our society.”
The buildup to the assault
Prosecutor Alun Williams said that the victim, Gwizdz, and one of the other two men lived in the same block of flats.
The victim had known Gwizdz for three months but they were not friends, Mr Williams said.
The night before the assault - which left the victim covered in blood and bruises and with a suspected fractured nose and concussion - he had gone out on his own to Fever nightclub.
There he chanced upon Gwizdz and the other man who lived in the block.
“During the time he was with the defendant and the other males, he did not do or say anything that would imply he was gay,” the prosecutor said.
“They all went to his flat and drank afterwards, and they left after 45 minutes. It was approximately 7am.
“He was later woken by his sister, who said there had been four males asking if he was there earlier,” the prosecutor said.
The victim went out for the day, and returned home at 9pm.
“At 9.20pm the defendant knocked on his door,” Mr Williams said. “He said 'we will have a smoke and a chat.'”
Outside the flats was the other male who lived in the block, and the third man, who has not been traced. There was also a woman and child present, the prosecutor said.
A vicious attack
The victim was punched to the face by one of the other men, and knocked to the floor, Mr Williams explained.
“Once on the floor, the male together with the defendant and other male, begun to kick him multiple times,” the prosecutor said
“They were saying words such as 'pansy,' 'homo,' 'faggot.'
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Mr Williams said that the child who was present began to cry, and the woman tried to calm the situation, which allowed the victim to escape.
He returned to his flat, and washed the blood from his face, and then heard banging on his door and shouts.
“They were using abusive and homophobic words,” Mr Williams said, “He heard someone shout 'I will burn your house down'.
“He identifies the defendant as shouting 'You have 24 hours to leave the flat'.”
The victim later went to hospital for his injuries but on his return found a brick had been used to smash a glass panel above his door.
“He was scared to return to his own flat,” Mr Williams said. The victim has since moved, he added.
Mr Williams confirmed that Gwizdz had no previous criminal convictions.
'Nasty' targeting of 'isolated' man
Probation service officer, Neil Hewitt, told the judge: “He said that over the course of the day he had drunk a bottle of vodka and he described himself as 'eight out of 10' drunk.
“He said it was not his intention to fight, but he got involved in something.
“He told me he has limited memory, but does regret what happened.
The court heard that Gwizdz 'accepts that there is prejudice within his community'.
Mr Hewitt described it as 'a pre-planned nasty attack on an isolated person'.
Gwizdz's defence lawyer, Joe Maloney, said: “He has potentially a lot to lose" - arguing his client could lose his accommodation and employment if he was jailed.
“I would urge the court to consider suspending any sentence, so he can reflect on the folly of getting so drunk, and indulging in that behaviour.
“I ask you to be as merciful as you can in the circumstances,” the lawyer concluded.
The judge's remarks
Jailing him for 16 months, the judge told Gwizdz: “The fact that it was a group attack makes it more serious, as does the use of feet with footwear on to kick the victim, after he had been punched forcibly to the ground.
“This was a sustained attack that left him bloodied and bruised, possibly with a fractured nose, but that is unclear, and possibly concussion.
“It is a matter of obvious inference that he would have been seriously distressed by this homophobic attack.
“I take the view it was premeditated,” the judge ruled, adding, “He was lured away from his home to be attacked.
“There was the threat of further violence including a threat to burn his house down.
“Then on his return from hospital, a brick had been put through the glass panel of his door.
“It required you being confronted by forensic scientific evidence for you to admit what you did."
“The sentence is to punish you, and to make it very clear to others in society who harbour such homophobic attitudes that the court will not tolerate this sort of behaviour."
The court heard that whilst one of the other two males involved in the attack had not been identified, one of them had been arrested and was due for a hearing at the magistrates court in October.
