James thought he was meeting a date. Attackers beat him and laughed while he screamed
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Groups of teenagers and young men are using dating apps such as Grindr to lure, violently assault and rob men in Melbourne parks before posting footage they capture of the disturbing attacks on social media.
Police said at least 35 arrests have been made across Melbourne for assault, robbery, false imprisonment and even extortion in a new form of homophobic violence in which perpetrators are often using apps such as TikTok to post and boast about their crimes.
Victoria Police LGBTIQA+ communities portfolio manager Jeremy Oliver said most of the cases would be classified as hate crimes, which could be considered as an aggravating factor when the matters are dealt with in court.
Oliver said the attacks had caused many in LGBTIQA+ communities to become fearful and hypervigilant.
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'What's happening in Victoria for rainbow communities is happening across Australia and across the world,' Oliver said.
'It impacts on our sense of safety because it's obviously not just people who use Grindr that are affected.'
A Victorian Children's Court on Tuesday heard details for the first time of a vicious crime spree, led by a group of teenagers on lone male victims who agreed to meet in a public park with someone they met on a same-sex dating apps.
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