3 teens charged for robbing man at gunpoint after meeting him through LGBTQ dating app

State prosecutors indict three teenagers in southern Israel who allegedly robbed a man at gunpoint after meeting him through the LGBTQ dating app Grindr.

According to the indictment, the three defendants, aged 16-17, created a fake dating profile under the name “Ron” and reached out to the man online, who agreed to meet them in person.

At the meeting point, one of the defendants approached him and led him toward his two accomplices. Upon realizing he was being ambushed, the victim tried to flee, but was caught and attacked by the three teenagers.

The boys pressed a gun to his temple and brandished a knife in front of him while threatening to murder him. One of the assailants transferred NIS 3,000 from the victim’s account on Bit — a digital payment app — to his own, per prosecutors.

The defendants also filmed the victim in a sham confession, forcing him to “admit” to having come to the meeting point to molest one of the boys, the indictment says.

They threatened to harm the victim and his family if he reported the assault to the authorities. The three minors are charged with aggravated robbery, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.