Melania Geymonat and Christine Hannigan pictured after the homophobic bus attack
Melania Geymonat and Christine Hannigan were hit with coins, punched in the face and subjected to sexual gestures (Picture: Sam Webb)

A teenager who attacked a lesbian couple on a night bus because they refused to kiss has been let off with a referral order.

Melania Geymonat and Christine Hannigan were surrounded, pelted with coins, punched in the face several times, and subjected to sexual gestures on their way home in Camden, north London in May.

The boy, 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted targeting the women at a previous hearing.

Today he was sentenced at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court for using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour and for stealing Ms Geymonat’s handbag during the attack.

He was sentenced to an eight-month youth referral order, 12 hours’ reparation and ordered to pay £220 in fines and prosecution costs.

His sentence was increased from six to eight months due to the homophobic nature of the attack, the court heard.

The teen shook his head as the prosecution described the ‘taunting’ and ‘degrading’ attack.

Maria Slater, prosecuting, said the teenager refused to answer questions after his arrest.

Reading a statement written by Melania, Ms Slater said: ‘I’m feeling so angry and so upset right now. I’m feeling such a strong pain.’

The prosecutor added: ‘She said she felt hopeless at the time.’

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Caption: ?We were seen as entertainment, that?s what makes me so angry? This horrifying picture shows a Ryanair flight attendant and her girlfriend covered in blood after a gang of men savagely attacked them on a London bus. Melania Geymonat, 28, from Uruguay was riding the bus with her American girlfriend Chris after an evening out in West Hampstead in the early hours of Thursday May 30. Melania, who lives in Bishop's Stortford in Essex, says the pair decided to sit at the front on the top deck because they both enjoy the novelty of a double decker bus. Then a gang of young men behind them saw they were a couple and started to demand they kiss while making crude sexual gestures. She said: ?They wanted us to kiss so they could watch us. I tried to defuse the situation as I?m not a confrontational person, telling them to please leave us alone as Chris wasn?t feeling well.? The men, who were in their 20s or 30s, began throwing things and the couple told them to stop. ?The next thing I remember was Chris in the middle of them and they were beating her,? Melania added. ?I didn?t think about it and went in. I was pulling her back and trying to defend her so they started beating me up. ?I don?t even know if I was knocked unconscious. ?I felt blood, I was bleeding all over my clothes and all over the floor. ?We went downstairs and the police were there.? Melania is waiting to find out if her nose was broken in the vile attack. She said there were at least four of them and one spoke Spanish while the others had a British accent. The attackers also robbed the couple before fleeing the bus. Melania, who moved to the UK in February and is on a year's sabbatical from her medical studies, says she felt safe as a gay woman in London and was stunned by the attack. She released the picture to raise awareness of violence against women and gay people. She added: ?It?s not something isolated, it?s common. We were seen as entertainment, that?s what makes me so angry.? The Met has been contacted for a comment. Provider: Sam Webb
Melania Geymonat after the attack (Picture: Sam Webb)

Last month, a 17-year-old boy was sentenced to a four-month youth rehabilitation order for his part in the attack.

He will also face 20 hour reparation requirement, similar to community service, and a two week curfew and was advised to write a letter of apology to the two women who were attacked.

The two teenagers along with a third boy, 15, admitted attacking the women shortly before a scheduled trial.

Highbury Corner Youth Court was told last month that the 15-year-old approached the couple who were at the front of the N31 double decker in north London in the early hours of 30 May.

He then made a scissoring gesture towards them with his fingers before the attack. The 16-year-old took the handbag as the group fled the bus, the court heard.

CCTV footage played in court showed the moment the teenagers targeted the two women.

Melania Geymonat chris URGENT GRABS: homophobic attack CCTV Credit`: Metropolitan police
Melania Geymonat was punched in the face and had her handbag stolen (Picture: Metropolitan Police)
Handout CCTV grab issued by the Metropolitan Police of Melania Geymonat and her girlfriend Christine Hannigan being surrounded by a group on teenagers during an incident on a London bus in the early hours of May 30. PA Photo. Issue date: Thursday November 28, 2019. Three teenage boys have admitted threatening two women on a bus at Highbury Corner Youth Court. See PA story COURTS Couple. Photo credit should read: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
CCTV captured the couple being surrounded by a group on teenagers on the N31 night bus in the early hours of 30 May (Picture: PA)

Speaking after the sentencing today, DC Darren Barlow said: ‘No one should ever be victimised because of their sexuality and I hope that this result brings some form of closure to both victims and they can put this ordeal behind them.’

Mandy McGregor, Head of Transport Policing at TfL, said: ‘This sickening incident was utterly unacceptable.

‘Homophobic abuse is a hate crime and won’t be tolerated on our network. All of our customers have the right to travel without fear of verbal or physical abuse.

‘We hope this case reminds all of our customers that they should accept everyone for who they are and they have absolutely no right to abuse them.’

The 15-year-old will appear at Highbury Corner Youth Court for his sentencing on 23 December.

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