Cop sentenced for soliciting boys
A former Philadelphia police officer was sentenced to prison last week for soliciting underage boys for sex.
Common Pleas Court Judge Karen Shreeves-John sentenced Adrian Makuch, 50, to 11-and-a-half to 23 months in prison July 31.
Makuch pleaded guilty in March to unlawful contact with a minor for prostitution, luring a child into a vehicle and soliciting prostitutes and has been in prison since then, after Shreeves-Johns revoked his $20,000 bail.
The Police Department fired Makuch, a 21-year veteran, in December, shortly after he was arrested in a sting operation prompted by complaints from a Northeast teenager who reported Makuch asked to take naked photos of him.
Police said Makuch approached an undercover 22-year-old officer who was posing as a 17-year-old and also requested nude photos from him.
During his sentencing last week, Makuch apologized to any young men he propositioned, saying it was an “uncalled-for action. Had I realized they were that young, I would have never approached.”
Once he’s released from prison, Makuch will be on probation for seven years and will have to attend sex-offender counseling. He will be barred from any unsupervised contact with minors.
Injunction issued against gay protesters
A judge granted an emergency injunction late last week that posed restrictions on ongoing protests by LGBTs and allies outside Albert’s Café and Sports Bar in Northeast Philadelphia.
The protesters have been speaking out for the past few weeks about the closure of House of Blaze, an LGBT club above Albert’s. Club manager Blaze Waters said building owner Albert Buoncristiano tripled the rent over the past two years and, when Waters refused to pay the $6,000 a month that was requested, locked the doors to the club, preventing Waters and his staff from retrieving personal belongings.
The injunction was issued late Friday afternoon, the day before the third scheduled protest. The court order limited the number of protesters to 35 and stipulated that demonstrators must be at least 250 feet from the entrance of the building, which Waters said the demonstrators abided by on Saturday.
Buoncristiano last week filed a civil suit against Waters, seeking $5,000 in damages because of the ongoing public dispute.
A hearing to reevaluate the preliminary injunction and the suit was scheduled for Aug. 5.
Student org. lauds PA colleges
Campus Pride, a national agency that provides support for LGBT college students, this week released its ranking of LGBT-friendly college campuses, and Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pennsylvania were two of the 19 schools nationwide that received a perfect five-star rating.
The Campus Climate Index included more than 230 colleges and rated them based on a voluntary survey about the schools’ policies, programs and practices.
Other local schools included West Chester University, Allegheny College, Bucknell University, Bryn Mawr College, Lehigh University and Muhlenberg College, all of which received between three and 4.5 stars. California University of Pennsylvania, in California, Pa., received 1.5 stars.
For the full listing, visit www.campusclimateindex.com.
Political club seeks suburban help
Liberty City Democratic Club is seeking volunteers to support suburban LGBT-friendly candidates in the fall election.
Volunteer campaign coordinators will plan and execute grassroots activities for targeted races and need to be able to devote three-five hours per week. Volunteers will encourage participation from Liberty City members and foster ties with pro-LGBT candidates.
Those interested should contact Mark Dann at [email protected].
— Jen Colletta