PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN - Four French nationals were convicted Thursday of beating two gay American tourists in this Dutch Caribbean island and were sentenced to between six months and six years in prison.One of the victims, Ryan Smith, suffered brain damage and could not speak properly for six months after he was attacked with a tire iron in April. Smith and the second victim, Richard Jefferson, were employees of CBS News in New York at the time of the attack.
Three citizens of the French part of the island - Glen Cockly, Micheline Delaney and Allan Daniel - and a man from the nearby French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, Michel Javois, were found guilty of public violence and causing grievous bodily harm.
Jefferson said it was a hate crime. But prosecutor Taco Stein described it as "meaningless violence."
Judge Jan Bosch determined that Javois attacked the Americans with a tire iron as they left a bar with friends on April 6 while vacationing in St. Maarten.
Javois received a six-year prison sentence, while Cockly and Daniel got three-year terms.
Delaney, who was accused of kicking one of the victims while he was on the ground, will spend six months in prison. Stein said she tried to stop the attack and had expressed remorse.
The island, a popular Caribbean tourist destination, is shared by France and the Netherlands.
The Holland Sentinel
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