The two men convicted of chainsawing the Sycamore Gap tree were investigated for an alleged homophobic attack just days before the mindless felling.
But nine days earlier, a man reported being doused in icing sugar and subjected to verbal abuse by two people.
According to the BBC, the alleged victim was at a Cumbria layby that was often frequented by men seeking sexual encounters.
He said: ”There was a knock on my window. I looked across and there was this black jeep, so I wound my window down and the passenger got quite homophobic with me.”
Two men were arrested in connection with the incident in April 2024, with video evidence found in one of the suspect’s phones.
The footage consisted of around a dozen recordings of various men suffering homophobic abuses and having things thrown at their cars.
He said of a ciip of another male victim: "I could see the fear in his eyes. It was quite nasty, and it was all homophobic."
Officers prepared a file on Graham and Carruthers, and in December 2024 a case was presented to prosecutors relating to three victims across six offences.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case a year later as too much time had lapsed.
The victim challenged the CPS’s decision, which meant the victim had to be told the names of the suspects.
It was quite nasty and it was all homophobic
Police told him the CPS’s decision was “disappointing” and named Graham and Carruthers as the suspects.
He said: “I knew the names were in my mind somewhere. I Googled it and my words were, “Oh my God”, I realised who they were.”
The initial ruling by the CPS to not charge the pair has still been upheld, but they face years in jail for their role in destroying the Sycamore Gap tree.
Graham and Carruthers will be sentenced on July 15 after they were convicted of two counts of criminal damage following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
The maximum sentence for criminal damage is 10 years and aggravating factors include whether it was done to a heritage or cultural asset.
