A New Hampshire man is facing five civil rights violations and a penalty of up to $25,000 for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend last year after she revealed to him that she is bisexual.
The civil complaint brought by the New Hampshire Attorney General's Civil Rights Unit in Hillsborough County Superior Court alleges that on the afternoon of Aug. 8, 2023, Lavaughn Barnett went to the victim's home in Manchester and demanded to speak with her about their romantic relationship, which had ended the day before.
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The victim agreed to go with him to avoid a confrontation on the street, and Barnett drove her to his home in Manchester even after she said she did not want to go there.
According to the complaint, Barnett believed the victim had cheated on him with another man and demanded to search her phone. At one point, he pulled his car into the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant and struck her in the head.
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Once back at Barnett's house, the complaint says, he threatened to kill the victim to get her to go to his bedroom. While there, she told Barnett that she didn't want to date him anymore and that she was bisexual.
Upon hearing this, Barnett struck the victim in the head multiple times with his fists, struck her in the right eye multiple times, breaking her orbital bone, strangled her, struck her in the legs with a metal baseball bat and then bit her on the arm when she tried to leave.
When a family member heard the commotion and checked on them to see what was going on, Barnett reportedly made a reference to her sexual orientation and then closed the door. Other family members then came up to the bedroom and separated Barnett from the victim. The victim was then able to call her friends to pick her up, and they wound up calling police.
When police arrived at Barnett's home, the complaint says he admitted that he struck the victim after she told him about her sexual orientation and made at least four references to her sexual orientation when describing the incident.
"The timing and severity of the assault, coupled with Defendant’s statements during and after the assault, clearly demonstrates that Defendant’s perception of [the victim's] sexual orientation motivated Defendant’s assault," the complaint reads.
According to the civil complaint, Barnett was arrested that day and charged with multiple counts of simple assault, multiple counts of criminal threatening, one count of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault. Those charges are still pending in Hillsborough County Superior Court, the attorney general's office said.
The civil complaint alleges that Barnett's conduct consisted of five separate uses of "unlawful force or violence motivated by the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation."
Each violation allows for a maximum penalty of $5,000 and give the court the ability to restrain the defendant from committing future violations and other hate-motivated conduct for a period of three years. With its complaint, the attorney general's Civil Rights Unit is also asking the court to implement a preliminary restraining order to protec the victim from Barnett.
A hearing on the complaint will be held at a later date.
