Gloucester teen beaten for being trans, mother says

The mother of a Gloucester teenager says her child was beaten over the weekend by other teens for being transgender, NBC10 Boston reports. 

The teen’s mother told the station that her son suffered injuries including a broken bone in his face. 

“He’s been bullied by these children for years because he’s trans,” she told NBC10 Boston. “These kids stomped on his head and his face and were calling him the F slur as they did it, and beat him all over his body.”

Gloucester police officers responded to the area of Dogtown Road around 10:45 p.m. on Friday for a report of a person missing, last seen in the woods, the department said in a statement. At the scene, the officers learned there had been a “dispute” among teens at a party in the woods where a teenager was assaulted. Police located the missing teen, who was taken to an area hospital for treatment. 

The department said the people involved “are known to one another’ and that Chief Edward Conley has assigned a detective trained in civil rights investigations to lead the case. The department said it is also in contact with the Essex County District Attorney’s office for additional support and resources. 

“We are treating these allegations with the utmost seriousness,” Conley said in a statement. “We ask the public to allow the investigation to proceed without rushing to judgment.”

Gloucester School Superintendent Ben Lummis echoed the chief’s message in a statement to NBC10 Boston, calling the incident “troubling.”

“The Gloucester Public Schools understands the severity of these allegations and is handling them with the highest level of concern,” he said.

Anyone with information about the incident is being asked to contact Gloucester police at 978-283-1212.