‘Sickening acts’: Teens arrested over alleged homophobic attacks after victims lured using dating apps in Perth, WA

Four teenagers have been charged over a series of alleged “sickening” homophobic attacks in Perth, with police alleging the male victims were lured through a dating app before they were assaulted. WA Police said the alleged victims thought they were speaking to legitimate people and agreed to meet the person they connected with on Grindr, but when they arrived they were surrounded by a group of males and assaulted while being subjected to homophobic slurs. A WA Police spokesperson said victims had their car damaged as they attempted to flee the situation and some of the assaults were filmed and posted on social media. One of the victims was a man aged in his 30s who arrived at South Lake, in Perth’s south about 1am on Wednesday where he was allegedly approached by a group of males who began verbally abusing him. He went back to his vehicle and locked the doors, but the group allegedly surrounded his car and damaged the boot and side panel in an attempt to steal it. A police spokesperson said rocks were allegedly thrown at the car as the victim drove away. A short time later another man in his 30s arrived at the same location after agreeing to meet a person he met on a dating app. Police allege when he arrived he was surrounded by a group of males who physically and verbally assaulted him before stealing his jacket and car keys. The group of attackers fled the scene in the victim’s car. The man suffered a large laceration to his elbow and bruising to his back and ribs. About 4.40pm, police arrested two teenage boys aged 15 and 16-years at a home in South Lake. They appeared in the Perth Children’s Court on Thursday. Another two boys, aged 16 and 17, from Hamilton Hill have also been arrested. The boys were charged with aggravated armed robbery, attempted aggravated robbery, criminal damage and stealing a motor vehicle. Premier Roger Cook told reporters it was an “insidious crime” and a horrible way for someone to commit a violence in Western Australia. WA Police detective inspector Matt Froude urged people in the LGBQTI+ communities to exercise caution when arranging meetings through online dating websites and applications. “We know this has been a distressing situation for the victims involved,” he said. “We take this behaviour extremely seriously and there is no place for this kind of targeted violence in our community. “Anyone who has been engaging in this kind of behaviour should be expecting WA Police officers to come through their door. “While incidents of this nature are rare, we treat them with the utmost seriousness and we encourage victims to come forward so we can investigate.”