Ex-soldier gets life for 'gay hatred' attack
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Your support makes all the difference.A former soldier who warned that gay men would never be safe from him was jailed for life at the Old Bailey yesterday for the attempted murder of a man who picked him up in a bar.
George Rees was left with a "festering hatred" of homosexuals after he suffered homosexual rape and was "bullied, tortured and abused" during his career in the Blues and Royals Cavalry Regiment, the court was told.
Passing sentence, Judge Richard Hawkins QC, said the "very dangerous" 39-year-old squaddie was motivated by "homophobia and a desire to steal".
"You said you were quite prepared to kill as many gay men as possible," he said, adding that prison authorities should bear in mind medical reports showing that Rees posed a threat to other prisoners.
As he was led from the dock, Rees, who pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder, smiled at the judge and said: "Perhaps I will be out in time for Manchester City to come back to the Premier League. Thank you. Have a nice day."
The court had been told that Rees, who left the Army in 1972, met Tony Grundy in a bar in central London last October. Over drinks they "discussed homosexuality and the former soldier's experiences in the Army", Peter Kyte QC, prosecuting, said. Mr Grundy then invited Rees back to his luxury flat.
Under the "plain impression" that they were going to have sex, Mr Grundy began leading the way to the bedroom when he felt the point of a knife in his back. Rees, originally of Moss Side, Manchester, stripped and bound Mr Grundy and goaded him about his sexuality before stabbing him three times.
Holding the knife to his jugular, he told his victim: "You are bleeding to death. You won't die yet - you have 20 minutes. Your only chance is to give me cash."
After Rees left with his valuables, Mr Grundy managed to stagger to a neighbour's flat to raise the alarm. He lost four pints of blood and gave police a graphic account of "feeling bubbles in his breathing", but he was saved by emergency surgery.
Rees, already on the run from a six-and-a-half year robbery sentence, was arrested shortly afterwards and immediately confessed. He was "stunned" to hear that Mr Grundy was still alive, as he had been "aiming for the heart".
In a statement Rees said: "In my heart of hearts I had done something which I knew had been coming for a long, long time. After the stabbing I felt a great sense of relief. He epitomised everything I had gone through 20 years ago."
He told police he had also wanted to kill actor and gay activist Michael Cashman for his campaign to end the ban on homosexuals in the armed forces.
"It was very worrying, especially as the police said they believed he had every intention of carrying out his threat," Mr Cashman said after the hearing.
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