In 2023 a man from Dongen will be attacked in his own house. He thought he had a date via Homo-DatingApp Grindr, but is overwhelmed at home by two men who tackle him with PepperSpray. Wednesday afternoon a total of four young men are on trial for a series of abuse and extortion of homosexual men, including those in Dongen. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demands up to eight years in prison for the series of robberies.
It is a Sunday evening in 2023 when the 55-year-old John from Dongen gets a message via Grindr. “It was a boy from the region,” he told Omroep Brabant at the time. “I had never spoken to him before, but before I knew it we were chatting for an hour and a half.”
They decide to meet. Initially, John thinks that his date has cold water fear: the boy does not respond for a while and says he is delayed. Until suddenly the bell rings. John opens and is almost immediately attacked with pepper spray and a slap in his face. Two unknown men are storms in the hall.
“I went into one and started screaming very hard. I thought: I have to attract attention.” In the end, John manages to close the front door. The two suspects, one of whom occurred as the 19-year-old Quinten on Grindr, flee. They leave without a loot.
Nude tied
It turns out not to be a one -off promotion. Two months earlier, four suspects struck at a home in Venlo, so writes regional broadcaster L1. There too, the victim opens the door in the assumption that there is an appointment. For a moment the victim thinks that it might be a trio when seeing the second suspects, it turns out to be an ambush. This time with loot.
The Venlo victim is threatened with a concrete scissors, have to undress, lie down on the bed and is tied up with duct tape. Only after he transferred more than 40,000 euros to crypto currency the next morning, the young robbers leave.
On vacation with the loot
The suspects, between 22 and 24 years old, trap several homosexual men. During the session on Wednesday afternoon they partly take responsibility for their actions, but much remains unclear. They state that it was purely about money because they were in debt.
John from Dongen felt betrayed after the attack: “If you go on such a site to attack people, then you are really sick,” he says. “If you do this with the aim of beating someone up because he’s gay, what inspires you?!”
Nevertheless, during the hearing, the suspects deny that the orientation of the victims played a role: “We did not specifically have it on homosexual men,” says one of them. “It was not a homophobia, but maybe they invite someone at home faster.” According to them it was an impulsive plan.
The chat messages between the men also show that it was a choice. “We must have a bank where we can put that cloth (money, ed.) Of those dirty butts.” Eventually they have 10,000 euros per person from robberies and they go on holiday to Spain from the money. Shortly thereafter they are arrested.
Eight years in prison
The Public Prosecution Service demands the highest punishment, eight years in prison, for the 24-year-old Venlonaar who presented himself as a ‘bait’ on the dating app in all abuses. Seven, four and three and three years are demanded against three other suspects.
One of the Limburg victims was only 18 years old when he was robbed.