It’s a year since a spate of Grindr assaults in Canberra, where men were lured to an address by a fake profile and set upon by a group of teenagers/young men.
ACT Police has confirmed that ten persons of interest were subsequently identified, search warrants executed and CCTV collected. However, the victims in each of the cases advised that they did not wish for the matters to proceed to court. So, those who conducted the assaults are still out there and possibly checking out Grindr, unbeknownst to other users.
A forum held by Melbourne’s Thorne Harbour Health to discuss safety on Grindr helps explain why some victims are reluctant to prosecute.
Following a year of assaults and 35 arrests in that city, it found that some victims are concerned that the offenders would avoid serving time behind bars, as they are often underage. This is in light of an attack in Brunswick last December, where a gay couple were set upon by machete-wielding teenagers and it resulted only in a $100 court fine. Although not initiated through Grindr, it showed how lightly let off underage offenders of gay-hate crimes could be.
Some of the victims reported that the incidents weren’t even one-offs, with the perpetrators returning to their homes.
As the assailants use their age as a excuse to taunt the men as ‘paedophiles’ while assaulting them and filming it, there is also a huge amount of shame involved, however manipulated. The age of sexual consent is 16-years-old but exchanging intimate images with a minor under 18 is a punishable crime.
A 19-year-old Victorian man, Christian Keryakus, pleaded guilty to two such vigilante-style attacks in June. He said he had been inspired by TikTok and YouTube influencer Vitaly, who Judge Sarah Dawes said “is known for streaming online pranks and vigilantism”. Vitaly posts videos luring men to meet through Grindr before assaulting them, often with others involved.
“In most cases, there’s always a leader or main offender, and then the rest of the group were tagging along and offending with them.” Victoria Police LGBTIQA+ Community Portfolio Manager Jeremy Oliver said.
The ACT Police spokesperson said that there have been no further reports of such assaults since last year; however, it is also believed that some such incidents go unreported, so caution is key.
STUN acknowledges that Grindr is used by people with a variety of sexual and gender identities.
