Media Trail

Porn actor transfers after college suspension

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports a student suspended from a Western Pennsylvania Christian college for appearing in gay porn videos plans to finish his degree at another school.

John Gechter, 22, was suspended from the Grove City College for a year after it was revealed that he starred in gay porn under the alias of Vincent DeSalvo.

Officials at the school said Gechter was aware the porn job violated its conduct code.

Gechter said that he withdrew from the school May 5. His other option was to get out of the porn business and reapply in a year.

Man sentenced for transgender murder

DenverPost.com reports Allen J. Andrade, convicted in April for the murder of a transgender woman, was sentenced to life in prison plus 60 years on May 8.

Andrade, 32, beat Angie Zapata to death with a fire extinguisher July 17, 2008, after discovering that she was biologically male.

Andrade was sentenced to life plus an additional 24 years each for identity and aggravated motor vehicle theft and 12 years for a bias-motivated crime.

This is the first time someone has been convicted under a state’s hate-crime statute based on the victim’s transgender status.

Pepsi criticized for funding pro-gay groups

365gay.com reports a PepsiCo shareholder who describes himself as “a former gay” urged the company to “stop using shareholder profits to fund anti-heterosexual groups” at the firm’s annual shareholder meeting held May 6 in Dallas.

Greg Quinlan, a member of the conservative group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, presented a motion asking stockholders to stop donating money to groups that he said “aim to discredit the ex-gay community.”

Over the past two years, Pepsi has given $500,000 to the Human Rights Campaign and $500,000 to PFLAG.

In his speech to shareholders, Quinlan described the Human Rights Campaign and PFLAG as “gay organizations that hate people like me.”

— Larry Nichols

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