‘I was extremely angry,’ says man who punched sex offender in Las Vegas courtroom
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man who punched a convicted sex offender in court told the 8 News Now Investigators that he was upset about a plea deal.
Tylor Fu, 29, was arrested for battery after he punched Richard Gross, 80, in the face after Gross was sentenced on Oct. 2. Fu said that he suffered years of sexual abuse by Gross as a child.
“I was extremely angry,” Fu said during an interview. “I know he’s old, but that doesn’t change anything like that, doesn’t change the damage that he caused, the horrific effects that I had to live through for decades, and it was not justice at all.”
Gross was initially charged with 26 felony counts related to the alleged sexual abuse of a child. He entered an “Alford plea” to one felony count of attempted lewdness with a child under the age of 14. An “Alford plea” is when a defendant enters a plea of guilty because they believe there is a likelihood of a conviction. This is while the defendant does not admit to committing the crime.
Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones issued a suspended sentence of 60-180 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Through a suspended sentence, a defendant is placed on probation and if they violate it, they could serve prison time.
Gross, a family friend, committed the sexual abuse while babysitting, according to Fu. He said the abuse began when he was eight years old and continued until he was 15.
“It just doesn’t make sense how someone can abuse a child multiple times and just walk away without any prison time,” Fu said.
Fu told the 8 News Now Investigators that he understood prosecutors may have felt the case was weak due to the lapse in time before Fu made a report to police. However, he said that he can recall details about the abuse which was reflected in his testimony in front of the grand jury.
In 2019, Fu’s wife showed him a news article about sexual abuse, which prompted him to report the abuse to police, he said.
“I really tried to put it away and move on and be strong, but as you get older, you start to realize what went wrong more, and I saw exactly where my problems were coming from,” Fu said.
Once the Oct. 2 sentencing concluded and Gross proceeded to leave the courtroom with his wife and attorney, Fu stood up and punched Gross in the face causing him to fall to the floor, an arrest report obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators stated. Fu was placed in handcuffs and arrested for misdemeanor battery.
Gross said that he briefly lost consciousness and was taken to UMC trauma, the arrest report stated. His wife said that his glasses were broken as a result of the punch, according to the report.
8 News Now requested courtroom video from the sentencing where Gross was knocked out. The Clark County District Court provided a heavily redacted copy.
Fu filed a lawsuit against Gross and his wife in Clark County District Court in 2021 for assault and battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence and negligent supervision.
“Defendants have acted intentionally, willfully, and maliciously, and with oppression, fraud, or malice in actively concealing Defendant Gross’s penchant for abuse of minors, committing actual abuse, sexual assault, battery, rape, imprisonment and/or infliction of emotional distress, and as a result of defendants wrongful conduct, plaintiff is entitled to an award of exemplary or punitive damages,” the complaint stated.
Gross told Fu, “Do not tell anyone, including your mom,” and that he wanted them both to feel good, the complaint stated.
Fu said he was sharing his story to help sexual abuse victims.
“It just feels like the right thing to do and I really want all the kids out there to know if you’ve been, you know, sexually abused, it’s not right and you need to report it,” Fu said. “We cannot tolerate sexual abuse of children, and it is absolutely one of the worst crimes any human can commit and needs to be stopped.”
Fu said that he created a GoFundMe account after several viewers asked if he had one after seeing the first story by the 8 News Now Investigators: https://www.gofundme.com/f/justice-and-medical-for-tylor.
If you or someone you know may be the victim of sexual abuse, there is help here: https://www.rainn.org/resources.
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