Sandy, Utah teen assaulted after hugging his boyfriend

A viral video shows a teen in Sandy, Utah, being assaulted after being seen hugging his boyfriend in front of his home. A teen suspect was detained by Sandy City Police and released to his parents after being identified by the victim’s sister.

Jacob Metcalf and Christian Peacock, both 18 years old, were close to celebrating their 3-month “boyfriend” anniversary when they were enjoying a warm Utah night in front of Christian’s house, where he lives with his parents. Jacob was saying he needed to go home, and Christian was hugging him, clinging on to every moment he could.

A car drove by slowly, and one of the passengers rolled down the window, and someone shouted “faggot” and yelled that gay people didn’t belong on “their street.” The car sped off, and the couple decided to stay in the driveway to talk about what had just happened. Half an hour later, the pair was still standing outside when the same car drove up, and two guys jumped out and confronted them. They again shouted “faggot” while three guys who stayed in the vehicle egged them on.

One of the guys went up to Jacob, pushed him on the shoulder, and yelled, “What, faggot? You gonna do something?” The other did a mock strip tease, taking off his shirt, taunting, “Am I turning you on? Does this make you horny?”

Christian said he was afraid for his boyfriend, thinking they would hurt him. He stepped in front of Metcalf to shield him and said, “The most repressed people are the ones who bully gay people. You must be gay yourself.”

The guy allegedly punched Christian in the face hard enough that it left teeth marks in his mouth. He began to stagger.

Christian’s sister, Jocelynn, ran outside, and Jacob began filming with his phone. The guy continued to shout “faggot” and said he punched Christian for being a “faggot.”

Late in Jacob’s video, the camera jostles in what appears to be a physical altercation as someone yells, “Stop! No!” Another voice shouts, “You think you can just fucking hit people? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Though one of the passengers in the car was blocking the license plate, Jocelynn was able to get a clear photo and told the guys she was calling the police. The guys got back in the car, and they sped off. Jocelyn tried following them in her car but couldn’t locate them.

Paramedics arrived and told Christian that, on top of his “busted lip and gums,” he may have a concussion. He refused to be taken to the hospital.

When Sandy City Police arrived, they took the information and said they would investigate. However, the family said that investigation ended after a detective called the number the car was registered to, and the person who answered said they had sold the car.

Jocelyn posted Jacob’s video on Instagram, and someone recognized the car that the boys were in. She and Christian drove to his house in West Jordan and confronted the boy’s parents. They said their son would never do anything like that. The family gave the name and phone number of the guy who allegedly hit Christian. They called his parents and asked him to come to their house to apologize to Christian. Jocelyn called the police, who arrived right after the family and the accused attacker. They took him into custody.

Initially, according to Jocelyn, the officers who showed up were hostile and unsupportive. One told her there was “zero chance we can charge a hate crime,” saying the assailant would have had to admit he hit Christian because he’s gay.

The video had captured the alleged assailant saying he had punched Christian because “he’s a faggot.”

Social media blew up when posted by the Rainbow Youth Project, which provides free mental health counseling to LGBTQ youth.

People began calling the police department and the Sandy mayor’s office, demanding hate crime charges. Jocelyn says the police called the family and told them they were being inundated with calls and would try to add a hate crime enhancement.

Sgt. Greg Moffitt of the Sandy Police Department told the media that the juvenile justice system will handle the case and that the hate crime enhancement makes the crime a class A misdemeanor, which means the result could include jail time.

“This actually fits in as a hate crime. When you’re targeting someone’s sexual preference, their religion, the color of their skin, or ethnic background, those all can be considered a hate crime,” Moffitt added. “If you are a victim of something that’s targeted as a hate crime, we’re going to take it serious[ly].”

Christian was later taken to the emergency room as he complained of extreme headache, memory loss, and exhaustion.

Christian’s mother, Stefanie Peacock, posted on Twitter that the family has hired two attorneys, Chris Wharton and Paul Burke to represent Christian and Jacob “as we go through this Ugly Hate Crime and assault that happened over the weekend. Please keep them both in your prayers & thoughts.”

A gofundme was set up for Christian to cover mental health therapy at gofund.me/18ddf676