Brooklyn man arrested for hate-crime assault on 12-year-old

A 37-year-old Brooklyn man has been arrested and charged with hate crimes for allegedly assaulting a 12-year-old boy with a belt while shouting anti-gay slurs near a Manhattan playground earlier this year. Kevin Maxwell was taken into custody early Sunday morning, July 5, following a more than two-month investigation by the New York Police Department.

The alleged attack occurred on the evening of April 29 outside a public restroom at the Baruch Playground within the Baruch Houses public housing development on the Lower East Side. According to police, Maxwell, who did not know the child, approached the boy and began yelling slurs at him. Authorities allege Maxwell shouted, "Are you stupid or something? You gay f---. Shut the f--- up," before striking the child with a belt. The boy sustained minor injuries, including pain and swelling, and the suspect fled the scene.

After the incident, the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force took over the investigation. In June, the department released a sketch of a bearded suspect wearing a hooded sweatshirt and asked for the public's help in identifying him. This led to Maxwell's arrest just after 1 a.m. on Sunday. He has been charged with multiple...