PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia woman charged with attacking a transgender woman in her Point Breeze home 2 ½ years ago has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and hate crime charges and will now spend about a year and half under house arrest.
Tymesha Wearing, 36, admitted she punched Kendall Stephens several times in the face, in an August 2020 incident at Stephens’ home on 22nd Street. Stephens sustained injuries including broken ribs and teeth, a broken nose, and a concussion.
Prosecutors told the judge that, after some words were exchanged outside, Wearing and others pushed through Stephens’ front door, screaming transphobic obscenities, calling her a man — while punching her — and saying they would come back later to “finish the job.”
Stephens told the court that she remains traumatized and has been paralyzed with emotion and pain since she reported the incident. She said some people who took sides against her have “relentlessly harassed” her on social media and in public. She said she lost her marriage and her house, and she has attempted suicide, all because of the ordeal.
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But Stephens accepted an apology letter from Wearing, part of her plea deal, in which the defendant said she accepted full responsibility for her actions.
“I forgive you,” Stephens said to Wearing, calling her a fellow sister and neighbor.
The judge acknowledged Stephens’ “grace and resilience.”
Related podcast: Stephens on her pivot to advocacy
Wearing will serve 18 months under house arrest and three years of probation. When she is paroled, she will have to complete 120 hours of community service.
Stephens said there were other attackers that night, and Wearing was not the worst of them. She said one person threw a flower pot at her and missed her head. It is unclear why these others have not been charged or if the investigation will continue.
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