Five teenage boys accused of luring unsuspecting men though dating apps before sexually assaulting and robbing them have been arrested.
The five males - aged between 16 and 18 - were arrested last week after 11 incidents were reported to Victoria Police.
The teens, all from the Greater Dandenong area in Melbourne's outer southeast, face an array of charges including armed robbery, intentionally cause injury, sexual assault and kidnapping.
To date, 47 people have been arrested for similar attacks across the state.
Victoria Police said groups of offenders have been posing as legitimate users on online dating platforms to lure men into meeting them.
The victims are then assaulted, robbed, threatened and subjected to what police described as homophobic comments.
Acting Inspector Jarrod Dwyer described the behaviour as concerning.
"There is no place for it in our society and it will not be tolerated by police," he said.
"This would have no doubt been a distressing situation for the victims involved – and these arrests show just how serious we are in holding offenders to account.
"Everyone has a right to go about their lives, meet new people and start a relationship in safety."
There has been a total of 113 incidents of this kind reported to police since January 2024.
Of those, 75 occurred in 2024, 27 in 2025 and 11 so far in 2026.
