MIDTOWN — A Knicks fan charged in an attack on a gay couple outside Madison Square Garden pleaded guilty to a hate crime Tuesday, according to court documents.
Martin Martinez was arrested in October 2013, four months after he and a group of Knicks fans came across Nick Porto and Kevin Atkins walking arm-in-arm on Eighth Avenue, according to police. The group of fans hurled homophobic slurs at the then-couple and beat them, breaking Porto’s nose and Atkins’ wrist, authorities said.
Porto, 29, said he approved of the guilty plea. "I actually his respect his honesty," he told DNAinfo. "I think that speak volumes on whether or not he’s actually learned something."
Martinez, who was 25 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to aggravated harassment in the second degree, a hate crime with a promised sentence of two years probation, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.
The misdemeanor involves physical contact based on “belief or perception regarding such person’s race, color…or sexual orientation,” according to the penal code. Martinez’s sentencing is set for March 30.
But Porto said that Martinez was only one of eight friends who ganged up on him and his boyfriend that day.
He plans to file a civil suit against all those he said participated.
"Their identities are known," Porto said, but could not specifically identify each individual in the video. "They got surveillance footage, they know where they sat, they know who bought those tickets, they know everything."
The attack drew the attention of local politicians and celebrities like Star Trek’s George Takei. Porto said that while he had "been through worse" physically, the trauma of the attack still haunts him.
"On an emotional level, being forced to remain helpless while your loved one is being beaten—those are the thoughts that keep you up at night," he said.
Atkins did not respond to a request for comment. Martinez could not be reached for comment.
