Texas Men Face Hate Crime Charges For Brutal Rape, Torture Of Gay Black Man

Image Via Des Moines Register

Two men in Texas are facing federal hate crime charges for the horrific rape and torture of a gay black man which took place in Corpus Christi in 2012.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday that Jimmy Garza Jr. and Ramiro Serrata Jr. had been indicted on four counts by a federal grand jury.

Garza and Serrata allegedly pistol whipped the man, beat him with an iron skillet, a chair, a belt, and a coffee cup. When the victim bled, they are accused of ordering him to strip naked and use his clothes to clean up the blood. They then sodomized him with a mop handle and poured bleach into his mouth and eyes.

Authorities allege that the two men attacked the victim for an unpaid $5 debt. Yet even after he repaid the money, they lured him into an apartment and began to torture him over the course of three hours.

Also, during the assault, the two men reportedly kept up a steady barrage of racial and antigay epithets. The victim, finally escaped by jumping from a second-floor window.

A press release from the DOJ stated:

“The indictment charges Jimmy Garza Jr., 32, and Ramiro Serrata Jr., 22, with conspiracy to commit hate crimes, a hate crime violation based on race and color, a hate crime violation based on sexual orientation and using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.”

If convicted of the federal charges, the men face life in prison. Garza is already serving time in a Texas prison for burglary, felony drug possession, and other charges.