2 weeks Ago
A Hillsborough County Superior Court judge found that a Manchester man violated the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act for assaulting his ex-girlfriend in 2023 after she told him she is bisexual. The state Attorney General’s Civil Rights Unit filed the civil complaint against Lavaughn Barnett, 20, for five violations regarding an incident that took place on Aug. 8, 2023.
He faces up to $25,000 in fines — $5,000 for each violation. A hearing is set to take place on March 6 to determine the appropriate relief. Judge Amy Messer issued her order at the end of last month following an evidentiary hearing.
Prosecutors said Barnett trapped the victim in his car during an argument over their romantic relationship, which had ended the day before. He punched her in the face and told her he would kill her if she signaled for help. The victim told Barnett that she was bisexual in an attempt to get him to stop looking through her phone, which he smashed.
Barnett punched the victim “repeatedly in the head, stomped on her head with his foot, strangled her neck, and hit her with the metal bat,” according to Messer’s order. Barnett told a cousin and his father he had beaten her because she was a “lesbian.” Once police arrived, prosecutors allege, Barnett admitted that he struck the victim after she told him about her sexual orientation, and he made repeated references to the victim’s sexual orientation when describing the incident.
Four statements were recorded on police body-worn cameras, according to court records. “The evidence of a significant increase in violence immediately following (the victim’s) disclosure is strong proof that the defendant’s assault was motivated by (the victim’s) sexual disclosure,” Messer wrote in her order. Barnett’s attorney, Ray Raimo, argued in court filings that Barnett did not believe his ex was or was becoming a lesbian.
“The statement for (the victim) that she was then a lesbian was, to Lavaughn, no more than an irritation that he did not believe, inside the larger, more important message that there was no way she was going to reconsider and rekindle her relationship with him,” the filing reads. “The circumstances of this case do not show by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was motivated to mistreat of assault (the victim) by hostility to her sexual orientation.” Attorney General Formella said the decision “marks a critical step in ensuring that the rights of all New Hampshire residents are protected” under the law.
“We are committed to upholding the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, which guarantees that no individual should be subjected to violence or discrimination due to their personal identity,” he said. “The court’s ruling reinforces our stance that hate-driven violence, motivated by prejudice, will not be tolerated in this state.” In July, Barnett pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree assault (strangulation), criminal restraint, stalking, simple assault (domestic violence) and witness tampering, according to court records.
For the charges of second-degree assault he was sentenced to minimum of three years in prison and one year for the criminal restraint charges, which will be served after the assault sentence..
