Seattle man from Cameroon doxxed, assaulted for being gay

Rodrigue Fodjo-Kamden, a 32-year-old man from Lynnwood, and Christian Fredy Djoko, a 27-year-old Bothell man, are accused of malicious harassment - Washington's hate crime statute - for the Oct. 21 assault.

Both defendants are also from Cameroon, where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to five years in prison. Detectives say that a woman from Cameroon who temporarily stayed with the victim and his husband tried to talk him out of being gay, then stole his phone and spread private photos on the internet, leading not only to a barrage of harassment against the victim, but also assault and vandalism against the victim's mother in Africa.

That woman is believed to have moved to Washington, D.C., and remains at large.

The alleged victim told police that he allowed a friend from Cameroon to stay with him and his husband from December 2017 to September 2018, according to the incident report. She repeatedly told him that he needed to "change from being gay" and asked him what other Cameroonians would think if they were to find out about his sexuality and marriage. She also reportedly snapped pictures of his personal photo collection depicting his relationship with his husband.

He told detectives that in August, the woman took his phone to Lynnwood and sent photos of him and his husband to the victim's mother living in Cameroon and his brother. More photos were soon released to Cameroonians in Seattle and Africa, as well as online, on Facebook and the WhatsApp messaging service.

The mother's home was "destroyed" after the photos' release and she was also assaulted seriously enough to seek medical care, the alleged victim told police. An unidentified person had posted online about vandalizing the mother's home, according to a Seattle detective.

He also reportedly fielded threatening texts from Fodjo-Kamden, he said, and showed the messages to police.

The victim had been arrested for trying to go to Fodjo-Kamden's Lynnwood home to retrieve his phone. That case remains pending.

The man returned home at 1 a.m. Oct. 21 in the 14100 block of Linden Avenue North when two men he identified as Fodjo-Kamden and Djoko approached him. Fodjo-Kamden allegedly threatened him with a knife while Djoko held his wrists behind his back. Fodjo-Kamden then grabbed the man's ears, shook him and called him anti-gay slurs in French - the most commonly known language in Cameroon - until he fell down and injured his knees. His injuries were visible to investigators several days after the assault, according to court records.

He reported the incident to cops the next day.

The victim obtained anti-harassment protection orders against the two suspected attackers. Still, Fodjo-Kamden allegedly texted him, threatened him and called him three times in violation of the order, police reports say.

The woman who spread his photos online posted on Facebook four days after the assault, calling the victim an anti-gay slur and saying he "needs to kill himself after writing his will," according to Seattle police.

On Nov. 2, the victim found that someone had spray-painted his vehicle with slurs and images of penises.

Fodjo-Kamden was arrested Nov. 3 and released two days later after posting $15,000 bail. However, his bail was increased to $50,000 after prosecutors charged him Nov. 15 and he was arrested again on Thanksgiving.

Cops arrested Djoko Nov. 10. He was released by a judge on a set of conditions, but his bail also increased to $50,000 after he was charged and was arrested again Nov. 17.

 

This is an understatement.