The victim of what prosecutors are calling a hate crime is speaking out for the first time on-camera.
Ronnie Robertson was assaulted in May at Tabby's Restaurant and Bar in Landen because prosecutors say he is gay.
Robertson, 31, appears to be healed after he was severely beaten. He says, however, that he still suffers headaches and difficulty breathing and will require surgery so that he can breath normally again.
"I want it to be over," said Robertson in his first on-camera interview about the legal case that has seen four people charged in the attack.
Robertson, though, says it won't be over for him until the laws of Ohio are changed.
"I feel like I have a mission to change those hate crime laws. People need to understand what it means to have a hate crime law, why it's in place – and until we're all treated equally – there needs to be hate crime laws," Robertson explained.
In the meantime, the case against Jeremy Ballard, one of the alleged attackers is now set to go to trial this month.
Three other defendants will have pre-trial hearings in the next two weeks.
