Victoria Police have made over 30 arrests following a spate of attacks on men, who were allegedly targeted through fake profiles on Grindr and other social media.
According to police, young males — aged between 13 and 20 — posed as legitimate users on the dating apps to lure men into meeting them.
The victims were allegedly assaulted, robbed, threatened and harassed with homophobic comments.
Some incidents involved victims being filmed, with the videos then posted on social media.
Acting Superintendent Carolyn Deer told the ABC the type of apps used led investigators to believe gay men were being targeted specifically.
“There is absolutely no place for this kind of concerning behaviour in our society,” Deer said.
“It will not be tolerated.”
Victoria Police confirmed the perpetrators used “mainly Grindr” but also apps like Scruff and Snapchat to find their victims, per ABC News.
The incidents occurred across various parts of Victoria, particularly in local government areas taking in Manningham, Casey, Hume, Moorabbin and Knox.
Some of the attacks are being investigated as “prejudice motivated crimes”, an aggravating factor that may attract a harsher sentence.
“There have been instances where there have been homophobic comments made,” Deer told the publication.
Since October last year, dozens of arrests have been made, with charges including armed robbery, kidnapping, causing injury, drug possession, and weapons offences.
Those arrested include boys aged 13 to 19, with several charged and bailed, while others await further inquiries.
Notably, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old face multiple injury and possession charges. Two were also charged for violent disorder, false imprisonment, and armed robberies.
“Everyone has a right to go about their lives, meet new people and start a relationship in safety. We know this has been a distressing situation for the victims involved — and these arrests show just how serious we are in holding offenders to account,” said Deer in a statement.
“As when using any app or social media platform, please always remain vigilant by protecting your identity and location and verifying the other person’s identity before meeting up.”
Officers have also urged victims to come forward, explaining reporting to a dating app does not mean the matter is then automatically reported to police.
They stressed there’s ways to get help even if someone has been blocked or deleted the app. Police can request information from dating apps to assist in solving investigations and conduct a criminal investigation, they explained.
“Victoria Police is committed to the safety and wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ communities and we take any report of this behaviour extremely seriously and investigate,” Deer said.
Police say investigations remain ongoing.
Lead image: Getty
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