YouTube star Calum McSwiggan pleaded guilty to vandalism in a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday after previously claiming that he had been beaten up in a hate crime attack.
The 26-year-old from London, England, entered a guilty plea to one felony count of vandalism causing more than $400 in damage in, the L.A. Times reported. He was sentenced to three years of supervised probation, 52 anger management sessions, and ordered to pay $7,000 in damages.
McSwiggan, who is an openly gay internet personality boasting thousands of followers on his YouTube channel about LGBT issues, was accused of making up a story about a hate crime that he claimed took place outside of the Abbey nightclub on Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood last June.
He initially shared the story on Instagram with a photo of himself in hospital, writing that it was the “worst night of [his] life” and describing being beaten by three men, saying he suffered three broken teeth and required six stitches.
“The authorities should have been there to help and protect me but instead they treated me like a second class citizen,” he wrote. “I’ve never felt so terrified to be a gay man in the public eye.”
The L.A.P.D. soon disputed his claim, however, saying that McSwiggan was “observed injuring himself with the handle and receiver to a payphone” after being arrested for vandalizing a vehicle.
The department also noted that he suffered from no visible injuries prior to his arrest.