Same-sex couple assaulted at Mascot Dock

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Joseph Kess, of Patchogue, was indicted by a grand jury on June 20 for assaulting a same-sex couple at Mascot Dock. After verbally harassing the couple, urinating on their vehicle, and dragging one of the women onto the dock in an attempt to push her into the water, Kess has been charged with third-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime, second-degree aggravated harassment, and third-degree assault as a hate crime.

According to the Suffolk County DA’s office, the two alleged female victims were watching the sunset at Mascot Dock in Patchogue when Kess and a male accomplice arrived at 8:05 p.m. Kess addressed the women, exclaiming, “You need a man,” among other anti-lesbian comments.

These comments escalated into sexually explicit remarks before Kess physically dragged one of the women across the dock toward the water, exclaiming, “I’ll [expletive] drown you.” The victim’s phone, as well as her shoes, were thrown into the bay, and she was later treated at Long Island Community Hospital for “substantial pain” during the days following the attack.

According to Patchogue Village director of public safety Jim Berberich, detectives immediately inspected the surveillance cameras at Mascot Dock for footage of the assault.

“The captured footage was instrumental in helping build their case against these two individuals, which ultimately ended up on their arrest,” stated Berberich.

The assault took place during Pride month, a time designated to celebrate the LGBT community and support their rights. The first-ever Patchogue Village Pride parade was held two weeks ago on Main Street.

“We had the [Pride] parade here two weeks ago, and there were no incidents,” said Village of Patchogue mayor Paul Pontieri, sharing his own surprise. “This is the first time I have heard of it happening here in this community. There is no defense for it.”

Despite the fact that Kess’s alleged verbal assault was done in concert with another man, only Kess has been charged for the assault. Along with sharing that his client maintains his innocence, Kess’s defense attorney, Scott Zerner, said that in considering another man was involved in the assault, it has yet to be determined if Kess has any legal level of culpability in the incident.

“We should be aware that a person described as ‘a bald man’ made many, if not all, of these statements and remains at large, and could never be an accurate description of Mr. Kess,” stated Zerner.

As Pride month continues in the wake of this alleged assault, Long Island residents are called to reflect on how to deter hate crimes from continuing in our communities. Dr. David Kilmnick, president of the LGBT Network, shared that this deterrent may come from reforming hate crime laws in New York State, as he believes they do not clearly specify penalties for committing such crimes.

“We are calling on the New York State Legislature to make hate crime laws more transparent and pass legislation that adds a minimum of five to 10 additional years in prison if convicted of committing a hate crime, on top of the underlying crime,” shared Kilmnick. “Short of doing this, two loving individuals simply taking in a beautiful sunset will continue to be at risk for being harmed, attacked, and have their lives in danger.”

Kess will make his next court appearance on July 5 at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead.