Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed an injunction against Winthropite Eric Patten on Wednesday, September 23, that prohibits him from violating the civil rights of the victims of an assault based on actual or perceived sexual orientation.

"Unprovoked attacks cannot and will not be tolerated in Massachusetts. These incidents not only affect the victims, but the community as a whole," Coakley said in a statement. "Our office remains committed to enforcing the state’s civil rights laws to protect residents and visitors to the Commonwealth."

Patten, the defendant, faces up to $10,000 in fines and ten years in prison for violating the injunction. He is charged with the May 2009 verbal and physical assault of two women in Provincetown, whom he perceived to be lesbians.

Patten approached the women while walking on a downtown street, shouting anti-gay epithets and slurs. As the women tried to pass him, the defendant then began punching one of the victims unprovoked and then slammed her into the window of a restaurant, shattering the glass in the window. The assault continued until police arrived.

Coakley’s office is employing the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, more commonly known as the hate crimes statute, in their prosecution of Patten.