Man charged with hate crime at Delaware gay pride festival

DOVER, Del. -- A Delaware man charged with a hate crime is accused of assaulting a man at a gay pride festival and groping two others.

Thirty-one-year-old Sean Wiley faces a Hate Crime charge and several others in connection with the August 11 incident at the Delaware Pride Festival.

Dover police spokesman Mark Hoffman says witnesses at the festival flagged police, who found a 62-year-old man bleeding from a punch in the mouth. Wiley was identified as a suspect. Police say he was drunk and shouting slurs at festival attendees.

Investigators also determined Wiley "had grabbed private body parts" of a 31-year-old man and 46-year-old woman at the festival. Hoffman says Wiley tried to punch an officer, and was arrested.

Wiley was initially charged with Offensive Touching (3 counts), Assault 3rd Degree, Menacing, Disorderly Conduct, Public Intoxication, Trespass 3rd Degree, and Resisting Arrest (felony). Wiley received a $3,900 secured bond on those charges.

As the investigation progressed, police obtained a warrant for the Hate Crime charge. On August 16, Wiley turned himself in to the Dover Police Department.

Wiley received a $500 secured bond on the Hate Crime charge and was committed to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, but has since been released on bond. It's unclear whether he has a lawyer.

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