Lesbian Teen Beaten at Illinois McDonald’s
19-year-old Kady Grass was accosted by two men after trying to enter the women's restroom at the fast food restaurant.
A young woman was severely beaten and robbed at a suburban Chicago McDonald’s after being confronted about her sexual orientation by two men.
The incident occurred on May 13 at a McDonald’s restaurant in Carpentersville, Illinois. According to a news release from the village’s chief of police, the incident began when two males — one adult, one juvenile — made derogatory comments to the victim about her sexuality.
The verbal confrontation escalated into a fight, with the men beating the victim, later identified as Kady Grass.
The altercation left the 19-year-old badly beaten and bruised, suffering from severe injuries. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was treated for leg bruises, facial injuries, a hemorrhage to her eye, and a fractured nose, reported Chicago ABC affiliate WLS.
The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office approved multiple felony charges against the men.
John Kammrad, 19, of Elgin, was arrested on May 17 and charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery, as well as mob action.
The other suspect, a 16-year-old boy, turned himself in to police a day earlier.
Grass, of Delavan, Wisconsin, told LGBTQ Nation that she had come to town for a cousin’s choir concert. After the concert, they went to McDonald’s, but when Grass, who has short cropped hair, tried to enter the women’s restroom and found it occupied, Kammrad and the 16-year-old allegedly called her a “f****t.”
Grass confronted the hecklers and told them they had no right to call her that slur. When she confirmed she was a lesbian, she flicked her wrist at them. The males appeared to walk away, but quickly returned, one hitting her in the jaw, the other attacking her from behind.
Grass blacked out, but her 13-year-old cousin later told her that one of the men held Grass down while the other kicked her in the face and stomped on her.
Two girls who were in the women’s bathroom stalls, who had accompanied the attackers, allegedly grabbed Grass’ phone and wallet and fled.
Carpentersville Police Deputy Chief Kevin Stankowitz said the incident “underscores the importance of addressing violence and discrimination” against the LGBTQ community.
In an email to NBC Chicago, Stankowitz said the department collaborated with the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office on whether or not to file hate crime charges. After reviewing the facts of the case, the office decided not to file them.
Grass later told CBS News that she still wants hate crime charges filed against her attackers.
“I genuinely think that their plan was to kill me and that they didn’t care if they ended my life that day,” she said.
Grass has since started a GoFundMe crowdfunding page to help defray the cost of her medical bills and to hire a lawyer to press charges. It has raised over $10,000 so far.
“This should have never happened just because I am the way I am, and it should have never happened just because I was just trying to use the bathroom,” Grass told LGBTQ Nation. “But I don’t want people to be scared to stand up for themselves because they think that someone will hurt them all the time. I want to be seen as someone that is strong because they tried to ruin my life, but instead, they ruined their own.”
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