Steven Mawhinney says he was punched seven or eight times. The man accused of assaulting two people at a Wellington gay bar has pleaded not guilty. He has been granted bail and is to next appear in Wellington District Court on 6 November. He is charged with assaulting Ivy Bar manager Steven Mawhinney, and Shanan Paterson last month. Mawhinney says he was punched in the head seven or eight times during the incident. He alleges a group of men turned violent following an argument with customers that was full of homophobic slurs, the group of friends realised they were in a gay bar. Mawhinney says people have walked into the bar before not realising it was a gay venue, and just walked out again when they realised it was.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 22nd September 2014 - 11:09am