Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the indictment of PHILIP WALES, 30, for allegedly assaulting and harassing a gay couple in the Flatiron neighborhood. WALES is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count of Assault in the Third Degree as a Hate Crime and one count of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree. [1]

“We allege this defendant deliberately targeted the victim because of his sexual orientation,” said District Attorney Bragg. “This type of bias-motivated attack should never happen to anyone, and our Office is continuing to seek accountability in hate crime matters while also conducing community engagement and trainings to stop these attacks before they occur.”

According to court documents and statements made on the record, on March 7, 2025, at approximately 10:40 p.m., WALES approached the 41-year-old victim and his husband as they were walking along 6^th Avenue in Flatiron. The couple walked past WALES as he shouted obscenities at them. WALES then turned back in their direction, ran up behind the victim and struck him in the head with a closed hand.

WALES continued to shout at the couple and the victim grabbed a large traffic cone to protect himself. WALES then struck the victim in the face.  

The victim’s husband stepped in and attempted to fend off WALES. The victim called 911 and flagged down the police car as his husband held WALES before he could flee.

The victim sustained a bump on his head, cut to his lip and bruising to his wrist.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant D.A. Olivia Stevens, under the supervision of Assistant D.A.’s Constantine Coritsidis (Deputy Chief of the Hate Crimes Unit), Hannah Yu (Chief of the Hate Crimes Unit), and Executive D.A. Lisa DelPizzo (Chief of the Trial Division).

D.A. Bragg thanked the NYPD’s 10^th precinct.

Defendant information:
PHILIP WALES
New York, New York

Charged:

• Assault in the Third Degree as a Hate Crime, a class E felony, one count
• Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count

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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.