Victorian police have arrested an 18-year-old man from Cragieburn in relation to a series of alleged assaults on gay men who came into contact with their attacker via online dating apps.
The man has been charged with home invasion and recklessly causing injury. Police are continuing to investigate the incidents and have encouraged other potential victims to come forward.
Police were looking into five separate incidents that have occurred since June this year where victims have allegedly been assaulted, robbed, threated and subjected to homophobic comments.
Four of these attacks have occurred in public places with the fifth in the victim’s house after offenders used geotagging to identify the location.
Police spokesperson Senior Constable Grace Fryer said the incidents were being treated seriously.
“We’re thoroughly investigating these concerning incidents and urge anyone with information to make a report to police. We know this has been a distressing situation for the victims involved – which is why we’re working tirelessly to track down these offenders and hold them to account,” Fryer said.
The incidents in Victoria follow similar incidents with dating apps occurring in the ACT and Queensland.
Earlier this month Queensland police charged a fourteen-year-old with robbery and attempted robbery after he allegedly targeted multiple victims via an account on the dating app Grindr. His case will return to court on 19th September.
Similar cases have occurred in Perth in recent years.
In 2017 two young men pleaded guilty over a series of assaults on gay men they lured via online dating apps. Men were approached on Grindr and then lured to public spaces in the Thornlie area with the promise of sex. Once they arrived at the rendezvous they were attacked. One victim was left with bleeding on the brain, while another was struck with a modified baseball bat.
The following year there was a series of assaults of gay men in Perth’s northern suburbs where men were lured to desolate parks late at night. A group of eight teenage students were later convicted over the assaults and robberies.
In 2021 in two separate incidents men were assaulted after being lured to a late-night rendezvous on a building site in Gosnells. Police later arrested and charged a 26-year-old man over the assaults.
