By: Paul Goldberg – Senior Correspondent | LGBT Politics USA

SALT LAKE CITY, UT — (September 10, 2026) — An 18-year-old Utah man is facing multiple criminal charges with hate-crime penalty enhancements after prosecutors allege he stalked a gay former high school classmate and repeatedly threatened to kill him and members of his family because of his sexual orientation.




The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office announced charges against Damyen Vainuku on September 3 following an investigation into a series of alleged threats directed at a former West High School classmate identified in court documents only as F.F.

Now Trending on LGBT Business and Politics News on JRL CHARTS:

•  Tucson Gay Bar Shooting Sparks Hate Crime Probe After Suspect Found With List of LGBTQ Businesses

•  FBI Arrests Puerto Rico Man Accused of Plotting Mass Violence at PRIDE Events

•  Nevada Ranked Safest State for LGBTQ Residents in 2026 National Study

•  America’s Job Market Just Got Worse — And Higher Interest Rates Could Be Next

•  Wall Street Shrugs, But LGBT Businesses Could Feel the Pain as Bond Yields Surge

•  Democrats Blow Up the 2028 Presidential Map as DNC Rewrites Road to White House

•  Review More in LGBT Business and Politics News




According to prosecutors, F.F. told Salt Lake City Gang detectives on August 21 that he had known Vainuku since high school and had repeatedly asked him to stop contacting him.

Despite those requests, investigators allege Vainuku continued attempting to follow F.F. across social media through multiple accounts.

Prosecutors Say Gay Former Classmate Was Specifically Targeted

The alleged conduct escalated on August 20 after Vainuku attempted to add F.F. on Snapchat, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors say Vainuku then began sending threats directed at F.F. and his family while making explicit references to the victim’s sexual orientation.

Among the messages described by authorities was an alleged statement that Vainuku “couldn’t wait to kill a gay person.”

Local reporting citing charging documents says investigators ultimately identified 13 specific threats of violence involving a firearm allegedly made against F.F. Authorities also allege Vainuku threatened to distribute intimate videos involving the victim.

Vainuku was taken into custody on August 25.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Vainuku subsequently admitted to sending threats to kill F.F. and his family and acknowledged that the alleged threats were made because of F.F.’s sexual orientation.




Utah Victim-Targeting Law Raises Potential Penalties

The case is particularly significant because prosecutors are invoking Utah’s victim targeting penalty enhancement, a state law used in cases commonly characterized as hate crimes.

Utah Code §76-3-203.14 allows criminal penalties to be increased when prosecutors establish that a defendant intentionally selected a victim because of a protected personal attribute. Sexual orientation is expressly covered under the statute.

Vainuku has been charged with one count of stalking involving a weapon, means or force likely to cause death or injury, a second-degree felony carrying a victim-targeting penalty enhancement.

He also faces six third-degree felony counts of prohibited dangerous weapon conduct, along with one count each of threat of violence and harassment.

The threat-of-violence and harassment charges were elevated from class B to class A misdemeanors through the victim-targeting enhancements.

The District Attorney’s Office says Utah’s law can also increase the potential punishment attached to certain felony convictions. When the enhancement applies to a second- or third-degree felony and a defendant receives a prison sentence, the minimum period before parole eligibility can be increased by one year.




Salt Lake County DA Condemns Anti-LGBTQ Threats

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill condemned threats directed at people because of their sexual orientation while announcing the charges.

“Threats of violence are unacceptable; stalking and threats based on someone’s sexual orientation or how they appear are abhorrent and make our entire community less safe,” Gill said.

Gill said the county’s Survivor and Victims Services team is working with F.F. and his family as the criminal case proceeds.




The District Attorney also credited the Salt Lake City Police Department for what he described as a detailed investigation leading to the charges.

The case puts another spotlight on the legal consequences of allegedly targeting LGBTQ people for violence or intimidation in Utah, where prosecutors can seek increased penalties when sexual orientation or another protected personal attribute is alleged to have motivated the selection of a victim.

Vainuku is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

JRL CHARTS LGBT Politics USA will continue tracking major hate-crime cases, legislation and legal developments impacting LGBTQ Americans nationwide.




Paul Goldberg
Latest posts by Paul Goldberg (see all)