Five people charged in connection with attack on gay couple in Mattapan

BOSTON — Five people have been charged in connection with a violent attack on a gay couple in Mattapan last month.

Boston police say the five suspects are not being charged with civil rights violations at this time, but will face charges in connection with the alleged attack that left a gay man hospitalized.

Officers responding to a fight on September 13 spoke to an alleged victim who told them he and his partner were walking toward a liquor store on River Street, around 7:45 p.m., when a group of men began hurling anti-gay slurs at them.

The victim approached them, and a verbal altercation ensued, the fight spilling into the street, he said.

The victim told police his partner was hit in the head with a baseball bat.

Police located him lying in the parking lot of a nearby senior housing complex, bleeding from the back of his head.

The Boston Police Department’s Civil Rights Unit took over the investigation before arresting the following individuals:

Franklin Francois, 51, of Randolph, charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon
Woopenson Morisset, 30, of Boston, charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury
Gardy Exantus, 33, of Mattapan, charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery
Maurice Payne, 37, of Brockton, charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury
Patrick Fanfan, 53, of Hyde Park, charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury

All five suspects were formally charged and arraigned in Dorchester District Court.

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