Syracuse man admits he brutally beat elderly acquaintance for being gay

An upstate New York man brutally beat an older acquaintance because he was gay, according to police.

Police said 52-year-old Alexander Strauts, of Syracuse, seriously injured the 76-year-old man earlier this month in an attack classified as a hate crime, reported The Post-Standard.

Officers arrested Strauts on April 18, and he was charged with second-degree assault as a hate crime, second-degree unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime and aggravated harassment.

Strauts admitted during questioning that he attacked the older man because the victim was gay, investigators said.

The two men were acquainted, but police did not provide any additional information about their relationship or the victim's injuries.

Strauts remains jailed as he awaits arraignment.