Detroit Mom Accused of Beating Gay Daughter Due to Her Sexual Orientation

DETROIT, MI — A Detroit mom is accused of beating up her 15-year-old daughter because she is gay, according to media reports. Iyesha K. Porter, 34, was charged earlier this month with third-degree felony child abuse and assault and battery in a case prosecuted by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office and supported by the Fair Michigan Justice Project.

The alleged assault occurred on Nov. 11 after Porter discovered letters her daughter and another female teen had exchanged. According to media reports, Porter signed her daughter out of school and took her home, where she allegedly hit, kicked and pushed her while shouting gay slurs.

The teen has been placed in her father’s custody, and a no-contact order issued by the court prohibits Porter from contacting her daughter.

Porter allegedly disowned her daughter and said she was “too young to be a (expletive/slur),” Detroit Police Officer Donnie Harris said during a hearing on the charges this week, WDIV-TV reported.

The daughter took the stand as well and said that she was scared about how her mother would react when she learned of her sexual orientation, WJBK reported.

Her fears weren’t unfounded.

Dana Nessel, president of Fair Michigan, a group that advocates for LGBTQ individuals in the absence of civil rights protections for them in Michigan’s Constitution — said the teen’s account of what happened isn’t all that unusual, but similar occurrences had been swept under the rug.

“This case is an unfortunate example of the physical and mental harm that LGBTQ youths suffer when their sexual orientation is discovered by hostile family members,” Nessel said. “The Fair Michigan Justice Project, in association with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and the Detroit Police Department, stands ready to aggressively prosecute these brutal crimes committed against members of the LGBTQ community.”

Nessel said the case sends a strong message “that it is not appropriate to deal with your child this way under any set of circumstances” but that “being bisexual, gay or trans is nothing a child should be punished for.”

Often, she said, teens who are kicked out of their homes because of their sexual orientation end up on the streets, turn to drugs or even commit suicide.

“We can't let this happen anymore,” Nessel said.

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