On Monday Blake Dean Nightingall, a 20-year-old man in Cairns, pleased guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm in company and stealing in an attack that occurred on October 22, 2024.
The court heard that Nightingall lured a man to a meeting through the Grindr dating app so he could carry out a vigilante attack, alongside two friends.
Nightingall created a profile using photos of himself at 15 years of age, and talked online with the man before arranging to meet his at the Smithfield library. When the man arrive the was ambushed, assaulted and robbed.
After he was arrested Nightingall told the police he wanted to “teach the man a lesson”. Claiming that the man had sent him images of his penis during the exchange. Details of the case were reported by The Cairns Post.
Police prosecutor Tara Nora told the court that the man was confronted by three people, one of how carried a baseball bat. He suffered cuts and bruises, was hit in the face several times, choked from behind and dragged along the ground, before the offenders demanded he hand over details to his phone and banking apps.
One of the other men, Max Fryer, had been sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, with immediate parole, and the third alleged offender had not yet been dealt with by the courts.
Magistrate Adam Johnson also sentenced Nightingall to 10 months imprisonment with immediate parole. He condemned the attack and questioned the story put forward by the offender.
“The circumstances were appalling, … you saw yourself with the other offenders as judge, jury and executioner,” Magistrate Johnson said.
“You’re not a sworn constable – you don’t have the power to investigate offences – you were acting like a vigilante law enforcer when you embarked on this exercise of trying to lure someone in – you’ve represented yourself as a minor and classed the victim of something of a pedophile.
“The whole construct is … uncorroborated, bare allegations of things said, but he never actually stumped up the evidence to support his claims, we have an unsubstantiated story being proffered with no support as to the matters he said happened.”
Police have confirmed that no charges were brought against the victim as there was no evidence to to back up the claim, and the offenders have refused to provide officers with the codes to unlock their phones.
Nightingall was also fined $900 over two drug offences, and ordered to pay $599 compensation within two weeks.
GoFundMe page to pay for Nightingall’s fines removed
After the case was heard a GoFundMe campaign was launched to assist Nightingall to pay for his fines, it was promoted by online by groups praising his actions.
The page titled ‘Boy Blake a Beer’ managed to attract over $600 in donations before it was removed from the platform. In Queensland there are laws against criminal profiting from their crimes.
A spokesperson for GoFundMe said the campaign violated their terms of service, and all donations had been returned.
Shortly after the campaign was removed by GoFundMe it reappeared on another platform.
