Beating victim sues accused attackers

A 42-year-old gay man who was beaten at a Labor Day party in Shelton, Conn., is suing the two men charged with attacking him. The man filed the suit in superior court Monday against the party's host, George Hamilton, 42, of Shelton, and Bryan Wendland, 25, of Stratford. Hamilton and Wendland both face criminal charges of first-degree assault and first-degree intimidation based on bigotry or bias. Hamilton's wife, Margaret, is also named in the lawsuit, which seeks $750,000 in damages.

The beating victim and his partner arrived at the party at about 7 p.m. on Labor Day, according to the lawsuit, and there were about 40 or 50 other people there at the time. When the victim was getting ready to leave around 10 p.m., Hamilton accused him of saying something derogatory to his daughter, according to the suit. Hamilton began repeatedly calling the victim "faggot" and demanded he leave the property, kicking and punching him and forcing him to the ground, the suit claims. The lawsuit says that Wendland, with whom the victim had been talking earlier, joined in the attack. The victim said he begged the two attackers to stop and let him leave, according to the suit, and when they finally did, he crawled away and called police on his cell phone.