Teh One Who Knocks
02-17-2012, 05:14 PM
KSAZ-TV Channel 10
BRISTOL, England - A British builder who left concrete model penises outside a man's house was fined for anti-gay abuse, the Bristol Evening Post reported Thursday.
Michael Parkes, 34, pleaded guilty in absentia Wednesday to using threatening words and behavior against Richard Ives, including leaving the offensive models and a drawing of a phallus in front of the house in Bristol, southwestern England.
The incident took place in March last year after Ives asked Parkes -- who was carrying out building work on a nearby house -- if he could take his laundry inside before work started, the court heard.
"Parkes began acting aggressively and called him 'a queer,'" prosecutor Andrea Edwards said. "Mr Ives went inside and then left the house to pick up his partner."
"When they got back there was a piece of chipboard outside his house with a drawing of a penis and a homophobic slur written on it," she added. "There were also two models of penises that had been made out of cement, placed on his wall."
Parkes claimed he did not actually make the penis models, but pleaded guilty to get the case over with quickly, his lawyer said.
The builder could not attend court as he broke his ankle at a separate hearing in November, when a co-defendant threw him down some stairs, and was housebound, according to the newspaper.
Parkes was fined £200 ($314) plus £200 costs. He must also pay Ives £200 in compensation.
BRISTOL, England - A British builder who left concrete model penises outside a man's house was fined for anti-gay abuse, the Bristol Evening Post reported Thursday.
Michael Parkes, 34, pleaded guilty in absentia Wednesday to using threatening words and behavior against Richard Ives, including leaving the offensive models and a drawing of a phallus in front of the house in Bristol, southwestern England.
The incident took place in March last year after Ives asked Parkes -- who was carrying out building work on a nearby house -- if he could take his laundry inside before work started, the court heard.
"Parkes began acting aggressively and called him 'a queer,'" prosecutor Andrea Edwards said. "Mr Ives went inside and then left the house to pick up his partner."
"When they got back there was a piece of chipboard outside his house with a drawing of a penis and a homophobic slur written on it," she added. "There were also two models of penises that had been made out of cement, placed on his wall."
Parkes claimed he did not actually make the penis models, but pleaded guilty to get the case over with quickly, his lawyer said.
The builder could not attend court as he broke his ankle at a separate hearing in November, when a co-defendant threw him down some stairs, and was housebound, according to the newspaper.
Parkes was fined £200 ($314) plus £200 costs. He must also pay Ives £200 in compensation.