Man's Sentence in Strikes Assault: Help the LGBT Community

A Sacramento man who pled guilty to a homophobic assault at Strikes Family Entertainment Center will soon get a chance to learn about gay and lesbian issues, thanks to a sentence handed down by a Sacramento County Superior Court judge Friday.

Joel Olivarez received three years of prison time for the June parking lot attack on Seth Parker, but the sentence was stayed pending completion of five years' probation. That probation includes a year in the county jail and 240 hours of community service—at an organization in the LGBT community.

Olivarez admitted to a hate crime enhancement in the beating, in which he punched Parker in the face while yelling anti-gay slurs at him. Parker, who suffered facial fractures, also filed a civil suit against Strikes in January, saying the bowling alley had tolerated violence on its premises.

"I am proud of who I am," Parker wrote in a statement read by his mother in court Friday, according to the district attorney's office. "No one should ever be made to feel like who they are isn't exactly who they are supposed to be."

Prosecutors said Olivarez was drunk and harassing Parker's female friends the night of the attack, and went after Parker when he tried to intervene.

Do you think Olivarez's sentence was fair? Tell us in the comments.