Pride Toronto co-chairman charged with drugging, raping young man
TORONTO, – A Pride Toronto co-chairman is on trial charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a young man in August 2012 after a Pride volunteer appreciation party they both attended.
Luke Amona
Luka Amona, 38, was charged in September 2012 and has since resigned from the Pride Toronto board.
According to a World Pride Toronto bio, Amona became active with the homosexual organization in 2009 after working for a variety of homosexual groups in Europe, Africa, and North America. "Raised in England, he believes his experience and knowledge will be particularly valuable to the organization as it looks to elevate its community engagement and accelerate its preparations for World Pride in 2014 [in Toronto]," the bio states.
The alleged victim, who was 20 years old at the time of the alleged incident and whose identity is protected by a publication ban, claims that Amona sexually assaulted him, and when he resisted, claims the accused forced him to inhale a drug.
“I remember asking him to stop and saying he was hurting me. And I remember him saying he had something that would help,” the complainant told the court, according to the Star.
The complainant said Amona produced a vial of “poppers" or amyl nitrite, an inhalant vasodilator drug that Crown prosecutor Fred Bartley told the court is used by homosexuals as a muscle relaxant to dull pain and enhance sexual pleasure.
The plaintiff testified that Amona forced him to inhale the substance.
