Gay Teenager Beaten, Robbed in Alleged New Orleans Hate Crime
Police arrested a 27-year-old in connection with the attack, which left the teen with serious facial injuries.
A New Orleans teenager was assaulted and robbed of his phone and sunglasses by a man who allegedly yelled homophobic slurs during the attack.
DeShan Joseph Jr., 18, was walking home past Louis Armstrong Park in the French Quarter around 6:30 p.m. on June 11 when the attack occurred, according to the New Orleans Police Department.
Joseph, who is gay, believes the man also tried to sexually assault him by attempting to pull down his pants, Kim Joseph, the victim’s mother, told The New Orleans Advocate.
Bystanders reportedly recorded the attack and called police after Joseph cried out for help.
Joseph lost three teeth, and two front teeth remain loose. His contact lens was dislodged and scratched his eye, and he will need plastic surgery on his nose, his mother told the newspaper.
Police responded to a robbery call and found a man near Tchoupitoulas and Market Streets. When approached, he refused to give his name. The man, later identified as 27-year-old Steve Dauphin Jr., was arrested.
Dauphin faces a hate crime charge, along with charges of second-degree robbery and resisting arrest, the latter stemming from his refusal to be identified.
Kim Joseph says her son is “frightened” following the attack and often asks if Dauphin will be released or able to find him.
On the night of the attack, Kim Joseph said, her son called her over FaceTime and left a message to say he was walking home.
“He was excited because he had just gotten a promotion,” she told the Advocate. “Thirty minutes from that time, I got a call from his aunt, saying, ‘Kim, you gotta answer your phone, DeShan’s been robbed and hurt.'”
A high school graduate, DeShan Joseph had taken a gap year and was preparing to enroll in a program to become a licensed realtor. He was working three jobs, including at his mother’s real estate agency, to save money. In videos on the agency’s social media page, Joseph is seen talking about his goals and making humorous content with co-workers.
“My son is just so likable, he’s so lovable,” Kim Joseph said. “He’s not a fighter, he’s a funny guy.”
Kim Joseph, who lost her nephew just weeks ago in a car accident, said that when DeShan spoke to her in the hospital after the attack, his first impulse was to apologize.
“He said, ‘I’m so sorry that you have to go through something else,'” she said.
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