Teen arrested over homophobic abuse incident in Chichester
16-year-old suspected of threatening behaviour and shop theft
A teenager has been arrested in connection with an incident of homophobic abuse in Chichester city centre.
The victim, a man in his 20s, reported being followed and verbally abused by a group of young men riding bicycles in the Little London car park behind East Street around 6pm on 13th October.
Police are treating the incident as a homophobic hate crime.
Officers launched an investigation after the man reported the incident and provided reassurance by visiting him at a nearby venue to take a full statement.
A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress.
He was also arrested on suspicion of shop theft.
The boy has been issued with a Community Protection Warning and bailed pending further enquiries.
Inspector Dave Lyons of the Chichester Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “This was a distressing incident for the victim and we understand the concern it has caused for the wider community.
"Hate has no place in our communities. We understand that reporting it can sometimes be difficult, but we continue to encourage anyone impacted by hate crimes to report them to Sussex Police. We are continuing to work with partner agencies in Chichester to further support victims of crime.”