(Los Angeles, California) Actor Trev Broudy, who was nearly beaten to death last fall has confronted his alleged attackers for the first time in court.

Broudy testified at the preliminary hearing for Larry Walker, 29; his brother, Vincent Dotson, 18; and Torwin Sessions, 19.

Broudy, who appeared in The Fluffer and does voice-over work in Hollywood, lost 50 per cent of his vision and suffered severe head injuries, when he and a friend were beaten with a baseball bat near his West Hollywood home.

Despite demonstrations from gay community activists prosecutors have refuse to label the attack a hate crime because neither victim heard the attacks use anti-gay epithets. District Attorney Steve Cooley said he believes the motive was robbery, not homophobia.

Broudy was in a coma for more than a week following the attack and said he is undergoing physiotherapy likely to last months.

His friend, Edward Ulett told the court that he saw a car's headlights while he and Broudy embraced on a West Hollywood street. Then the attack began.

"He (the assailant) swung and hit Trev in the back of the head," said Ulett.

"It was like a slugger's swing, a baseball swing," Ulett testified.

He said the attacker next turned his attention to Ulett's car and swung twice at the driver's window.

"The second time, it broke. Glass just shattered everywhere and the bat hit my arm," Ulett said. "I got the car into drive. I just shot out of there."

Last week, two other men were ordered to stand trial on charges of assault, robbery and a hate crime for baseball-bat attacks on another gay man and a transgendered woman in October.