Teenagers due in court over ‘violent homophobic attack’ on lesbian couple on London bus

Four teenage boys accused of violently attacking a lesbian couple in a suspected homophobic attack on a London night bus are due to go on trial.

Melania Geymonat, 28, and her girlfriend Chris Hannigan were allegedly targeted on the top of a double-decker London night bus after refusing to kiss.

Four boys, two aged 17, one aged 16 and another aged 15, were charged with an aggravated hate crime under the Public Order Act in July.

The group allegedly moved from the back of the bus travelling from West Hampstead to Camden Town in the early hours of May 30 to surround the couple before making sexual gestures.

Both women were taken to hospital for treatment to facial injuries after the incident, in which it is claimed the boys threw coins at them.

As well as the Public Order offence, the 15 and 16-year-olds face an additional charge of handling stolen goods.

The 16-year-old was also charged with theft, and one 17-year-old denied possession of cannabis.

The four teenagers are expected to appear at Highbury Corner Youth Court on Thursday, the first day of a two-day trial.

Both of the women and the bus driver are expected to give evidence.

Hate crimes have risen by 10 per cent in a year across England and Wales, with at least a quarter of the 103,400 recorded crimes directed at LGBT+ people, according to reports.

The Home Office said the increase could be driven by better recording by police and the increased confidence of victims to report, although it did not rule out “genuine increases”.

Laura Russell, a director at the charity Stonewall, LGBT+ people “still face hatred simply because of who they are”.

She added: “These figures are still likely to only represent the tip of the iceberg when it comes to hate crimes against LGBT+ people.”

Additional reporting by agencies

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