Boy arrested after gang chase and harass Chichester theatre cast member as show cancelled
The homophobic attack was described as “appallingly abusive”
A boy was arrested as part of an ongoing police investigation into homophobic abuse in Chichester city centre after a theatre cast member was chased and harassed.
The victim was a man in his 20s who was performing in Chichester Festival Theatre who was followed and verbally abused by a group of young men riding bicycles, and was left shaken by the incident.
The incident happened in the Little London car park behind East Street at about 6pm on 13 October. It is being treated as a homophobic hate crime.
It led to the theatre being forced to cancel a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in what it described as a “appallingly abusive attack”.
Officers launched an investigation after being made aware of the incident, and visited the victim to provide reassurance and take a full statement.
Police can confirm a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was arrested on suspicion of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. He was also arrested on suspicion of shop theft.
The boy was issued with a Community Protection Warning, and has been bailed, pending further enquiries.
Inspector Dave Lyons from Chichester Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “This was a distressing incident for the victim and we understand the concern it has caused for the wider community.
“Hate has no place in our communities. We understand that reporting it can sometime be difficult, but we continue to encourage anyone impacted by hate crimes to report them to Sussex Police.
“We are continuing to work with partner agencies in Chichester to further support victims of crime.”
In a statement, the venue said: “We were deeply shocked that a member of the company of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was the victim of an appallingly abusive attack, aggressively hounded and physically pursued through the centre of Chichester, in the early evening prior to the performance on Tuesday 13 October. “
The statement added: “Since this matter will be in the hands of the police, we cannot go into further details at this time. Thankfully the cast member concerned is not physically injured; and with the goodwill and resolve of our outstanding company, performances will resume until the end of the run on Saturday.
“We are profoundly sad and dismayed that such an atrocious thing has happened here in Chichester, and know that the vast majority of our fellow citizens will share our repugnance. We will do everything in our power to support the actor affected, and our companies, now and in the future.”
Anyone with further information about the incident can report it to Sussex Police online, quoting serial 47260238010.