Father Beats Teen Son for Being on Grindr, Faces Sentencing

A man in Plymouth, England forced his teenage son to strip and then whipped him with a television cable while subjecting the young man to a humiliating interrogation, the Plymouth Crown Court judge recounted during the man's sentencing.

Neither the father nor the son was identified by local news source Plymouth Live, but the specifics of the case, as set out by the judge, were chilling.

The news account said that the 15-year-old victim of the whipping had signed on to Grindr. When his father found out about it, he reportedly seized a length of television cable, ordered his son to strip down to his underwear, and then delivered a flogging that included homophobic verbal abuse.

In his comments during the man's sentencing, the judge opined that "this cruel and brutal punishment was motivated by his sexuality, or your perception of his sexuality."

The father's lawyer argued that the man had not reacted out of anti-LGBTQ animus, but rather anger at his son having posted pictures of himself on the dating app that the father considered to be "indecent."

The lawyer added, "The fact that he has now lost contact with his own son has broken his heart. The remorse he has shown is genuine."

But the judge was unconvinced.

"You asked him about photographs of lots of boys on his phone and shouted: 'You are gay' and 'you are a woman,' " the judge noted in comments directed at the man. "You shouted: 'What's that between your legs?'

"You hit him again and again, some 20 times, with the television cable. You caused him 'loads of pain', to use his words."

Added the judge:

"I have no doubt that part of the reason you became angry is that you saw material which you thought indicated he was bisexual."

The teen fled the house. Later, at school, he tearfully disclosed what had happened.

The father received a sentence of a year and a half, Plymouth Live reported.