Melbourne police have arrested five teenage boys in relation to a series of assaults where gay men were lured to parklands and attacked.
Police allege the boys, the youngest whom was 14, used a dating app to pose an adult male and then lured respondents to a meeting in a park in the Ashwood area. The men were then assaulted and subjected to homophobic abuse.
The alleged assaults occurred over a two month period beginning with an attack on a 47-year-old Glen Waverley man around 9pm on 16th December last year. Additional assaults occurred to a 42-year-old who sustained facial injuries around 1am on 18th December, and another incident occurred on 7th January this year when a 27-year-old sustained minor injuries.
Police say they increased patrols in the area the number of attacks increased. On Friday police arrested two 14-year-old boys, two 15-year-old boys, and a 16-year-old boy, after they executed search warrants on three separate properties.
A 19-year-old was previously arrested on 27th January and will appear in court charged with attempted robbery, and recklessly causing injury.
Police have urged anyone with information about the incidents to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via their website.
Similar assaults have previously occurred in Western Australia.
In 2017 two men were charged and convicted over a series of violent assaults in the nearby suburb of Canningvale. On that occasion Police defended their decision to not inform the LGBTIQ community that the assaults were occurring.
In 2018 several gay men were lured to a park in Doubleview, one of the victims described to OUTinPerth how he was assaulted and left with bruises and facial fractures. The offenders were later apprehended and revealed to be school students from Perth’s northern suburbs.
In 2021 a 26-year-old man was arrested over a series of assaults that occurred in Gosnells. He was sentenced to a six and half year prison term.
OIP Staff
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