Group sees harsher anti-gay crimes In Webster, a 46-year-old gay man was lured to a McDonald's by men he met on line and then was stripped, robbed, and beaten. In Somerville, a 24-year-old lesbian was called hateful names by a group of 10 teenagers who spit and threw rocks at her car. In Boston, a 27-year-old gay man committed suicide, according to friends, because he couldn't cope with the memories of being attacked in a South End alley by two men who used a knife to carve an "F" on his shoulder. Officials of the Fenway Community Health Center said yesterday THE LOTTERY TUESDAY number 0402 TUESDAY PAYOFFS (based on $1 bet) EXACT ORDER All 4 digits $4,030 First or last 3 $564 Any 2 digits $48 Any 1 digit $5 ANY ORDER All 4 digits $336 First 3 digits $188 Last 3 digits $94 MASS MILLIONS April 5 15 21 22 35 45 46 By Daniel Vasquez GLOBE STAFF that these incidents, which happened last year, are examples of how the viciousness of attacks on gays and lesbians has intensified. A report compiled by the health center indicated that assaults on gays and lesbians that resulted in serious injury rose 13 percent statewide last year, while attacks in which a weapon was used went up 5 percent. Moreover, across the nation 33 gay men and lesbians were killed during hate crime attacks in 1998, twice the number killed the year before, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. The coalition reported that two of the homicides were in Boston. Rufus Thomas, a 35-year-old transgender man, was killed last September, and 34-year-old Rita Hester, also transgendered, was killed in November. Police are not sure whether the homicides are hate crimes. Boston police reported yesterday that hate crimes against gay men and lesbians increased from 21 in 1997 to 37 in 1998. But the Fenway report recorded a 36 percent decrease in the number of reported attacks statewide and 4 percent decline nationwide, which officials attributed to the reluctance of victims to come forward. During a press conference, activists and law enforcement officials called the kidnapping and beating death of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming a harbinger of a growing trend. "Matthew's murder stunned and saddened all of us," said David M. Shannon, senior advocate for the Fenway health center's Violence Re-9 covery Program. "But the findings, clearly show that violence [is] not confined to Laramie. Savage and brutal attacks occur against mem-. bers of our community all too often right here in Massachusetts." Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-; gender communities often do not report attacks because they still fear being stigmatized or are afraid that police will be biased and unhelpful. "Only someone who has been through it can know how real it is," Reilly said. "This report gives us concrete evidence, [but] people will look at the report and see that the number of incidents seemed to have' gone down. Let's not be fooled by those numbers. I see a very frightening increase in violence." Boston police Lieutenant Detective David R. Aldrich, commander of the department's Community Disor-' ders Unit, said the increase in Boston reflects a greater willingness* among victims to report hate crimes. While advocates agreed that police in Boston have made stronger connections with the gay and lesbian. communities, some said there is plenty of evidence that these hate, crimes are underreported. "Josh didn't report it, and that was his number one mistake," said Jeremy Mahoney, a friend of the man who committed suicide.