17-Year-Old Brutally Beaten, Strangled And Set Afire By Thugs In Homophobic Attack

A 17-year-old boy was brutally beaten, strangled and set on fire by a group of youngsters in a horrific homophobic attack led by the former's ex-lover.

Taylor Knight, 20, has been jailed for three years and eight months for orchestrating the savage attack against his former lover, Birmingham Mail reported. The victim wasn't publicly identified.

Knight invited the victim to his home where the torture took place. Knight and a friend named Ace carried out the attack. Earlier during the attack, the victim texted his brother for help. The victim's brother then alerted the police. The responding cops were able to free the victim from his attackers. The victim was visibly shaken and petrified following the attack.

Knight was also accused of abducting a 15-year-old girl. The girl was found in Knight's home when police responded. She participated in the torture by throwing boiling water at the victim while Knight and his friend went out to buy drugs.

Knight allegedly threw a sandwich and water over the victim's face before dragging him around the flat and threatening to rape and burn him. The suspects doused the victim's hair with aerosol and set it on fire.

Knight had reportedly been in contact with the victim from early March and they had communicated over text, mostly speaking about sex. They were also said to have spent a night together.

However, things took a turn for the worse when Ace made homophobic remarks against the victim.

During the assault at Knight's Kings Heath flat, the victim was knocked on the floor as punches and kicks poured in. The assailants allegedly also stole the victim's mobile phone and $34.58.

During Knight's trial on Sept. 3, Birmingham Crown Court Judge Heidi Kubik said the accused was driven by his own "repressed sexuality." Prosecutor Omar Majid said Knight encouraged Ace as he called the victim slurs. "He was egged on and encouraged by this defendant, he didn't stop it," the prosecutor said.

"The victim tried to explain he was actually in a relationship with the defendant as far as he understood it. That appears to be the trigger for the defendant to become violent," Majid said in court. "The defendant and those with him engaged in behavior which can properly be described as torture," he added.

"The defendant proceeded to take a wire, place it around the victim's neck and strangle him with it. He then put him in a headlock while Ace kicked him in the face. They dragged him into the bathroom and made him sit in the bath in cold water and threw cigarette ends at him," Majid said while detailing the nature of the attack.

Meanwhile, the 15-year-old girl who Knight was said to have abducted was convicted of theft and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The girl has previously been sentenced to a youth rehabilitation order, reported the Birmingham Mail.