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| Two men were convicted of murdering Gwen Araujo, a transgendered teen. It was the second trial in the case and there may be yet a third trial, because the jury deadlocked over charges against a third defendant. (Photo by Don Heupel/AP) |
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HAYWARD, Calif. (AP) — Two men who had sex with a transgendered teen and then discovered she was biologically male were convicted Monday of her murder, but cleared of hate crime charges. Michael Magidson and Jose Merel, both 25, face mandatory sentences of 15 years-to-life in prison for second-degree murder in the killing of Gwen Araujo, who was beaten, tied up and strangled. The jury was deadlocked in the case of a third man, Jason Cazares, 25, marking the second time a mistrial was declared in his case. Araujo, 17, was born a boy named Edward but grew up to believe her true identity was female. The defendants, who knew her as Lida, met her in the summer of 2002. Magidson and Merel had sexual encounters with her, experiences that fueled suspicions about Araujo’s gender. The issue boiled over in the early hours of Oct. 4, 2002, in a confrontation at Merel’s house in the San Francisco suburb of Newark. In the first trial, the three defendants stuck together, with their lawyers attacking the chief prosecution witness, Jaron Nabors, who was also at the house the night Araujo died but was allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A gay U.S. border officer was acquitted last week of violating a Chinese tourist’s civil rights when he pushed her head into the pavement after pepper-spraying her at the U.S.-Canada border. Government prosecutors claimed Homeland Security officer Robert Rhodes used excessive force against Zhao Yan, 38, a businesswoman from Tianjin, China, who was touring Niagara Falls in July 2004. Rhodes told investigators he believed the woman might have been associated with a drug suspect and ordered her inside the Niagara Falls inspection station, but she took off running. He said he had followed proper customs and border protection procedures in subduing her and denied accusations that he struck her head with his knee and slammed her face to the ground. Defense attorney Steven Cohen accused the U.S. government of prosecuting Rhodes to protect delicate U.S.-Chinese relations and said Rhodes was an easy target because he was openly gay and had complained about discrimination on the job.
SEATTLE (AP) — A King County sheriff’s deputy whose gun was used to kill a convenience-store clerk has a history of department violations that prompted internal affairs to recommend in 1991 that he be fired, according to documents obtained by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. A memo written 14 years ago by King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, then an internal affairs lieutenant, said Ferenc Zana “does not possess the integrity to wear the uniform.” Her comments followed an internal-affairs investigation that found Zana had given alcohol and his car to two minors who had an auto accident and then lied about it. His roommate, Christopher Bistryski, is charged with using a gun that belonged to Zana — not his service weapon — to shoot and kill clerk Dimitri Imad Harb last month. Those who know Zana say he socialized with younger men like Bistryski, whose criminal record includes juvenile arrests for burglary, theft and arson — sometimes taking them into his home.
GOSHEN, N.Y. (AP) — A Monroe man last week admitted to strangling to death a doctor who dressed as a woman and performed oral sex on him. Jason Bardsley, 27, said he suffered extreme emotional distress when Dr. Robert Binenfeld lifted his dress and revealed male genitalia on Dec. 21, 2004. Bardsley said the doctor then grabbed his testicles, which prompted Bardsley to strangle him. Bardsley pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and fourth-degree grand larceny. Bardsley, who went to the doctor’s home to buy a car, admitted to taking Binenfeld’s credit cards and using them in the days following the killing.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Police allege that a Cedar Falls man used alcohol and drugs to impair minors before performing sex acts on them, and he now is charged with sexual assault and transmission of the virus that causes AIDS, the Des Moines Register reported. Guy Dell Sudduth, 41, allegedly provided alcohol to minors and allowed drug use in his apartment with at least three male teens, said Cedar Falls Police Department Capt. Jeff Olson. Olson told reporters. The incidents occurred several times in 2004 and 2005, police allege. Sudduth is charged with seven counts of third-degree sexual abuse and two counts of criminal transmission of HIV. According to Olson, the three teens are being tested for the virus.
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