Four adolescent boys were charged on a London night bus for a homophobic attack on two females, police said.
Metropolitan Police said the kids, aged between 15 and 17, face charges of aggravated hate crime for the May 30 incident.
When they were assaulted, Melania Geymonat, 28, and her American partner Chris, 29, traveled to Camden Town.
After being punched and stolen after a night out in West Hampstead, northwest London, the couple was left bloodied and bruised.
Both women suffered facial injuries and needed hospital treatment.
The group allegedly began harassing the two women when they discovered they were a couple, asking them to kiss while making sexual gestures.
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Describing the alleged incident, Chris said some young men saw they were a couple as they were holding hands.
‘I did not engage with him at all. Initially, Melania was trying to deescalate the situation. She was being friendly but trying to keep them at bay.’
Miss Geymonat added: ‘The violence is not only because we are women who are dating each other. It’s also because we are women.’
Two of the boys are aged 16, one is 15 and another is aged 17, have been charged with an aggravated hate crime under the Public Order Act, Scotland Yard said today.
One of the 16-year-olds, from Wandsworth, south London, is also charged with theft and handling stolen goods.
Another, from Kensington and Chelsea, west London, is also accused of possessing cannabis.
All four defendants will appear at Highbury Corner Youth Court on August 21.
