DENVER -- A 20-year-old University of Colorado student has been charged with assaulting two young gay women in Provincetown, Mass., over the weekend, officials said.

Eric Patten pleaded not guilty on a charge of assault and battery under the state hate crime law.

He was arrested around 1:08 a.m. Saturday after he was seen punching one of the women on the ground, reported the Cape Cod Times.

The victim was one of two women who were allegedly assaulted by Patten because he thought they were gay men.

Patten is accused of punching the women with his right fist and calling them "faggots."

The newspaper reported Provincetown is an attractive spot for college and post-college gay women vacationing over the Memorial Day weekend.

Both women were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. One of the women cut her leg during the attack and had to get seven stitches, police said.

While he was being arrested, Patten kicked a police officer and spat at another, said police Sgt. Carrie Lopes.

Pattern's defense attorney Edward Veara blamed his overuse of alcohol for actions that Veara called "completely out of character."