Three teenagers received prison sentences Tuesday for violent attacks against men they lured using fake profiles on Grindr. The dating app primarily serves gay men. Two 18-year-olds were sentenced to six and seven months in prison respectively by the Helsingør Court. The third received one year and two months of conditional imprisonment, with the first six months being an unconditional prison term. His sentence will be extended if he commits new crimes within the next two years, according to court officials.
The young men posed as a 14-year-old boy on the dating app to target potential pedophiles. They then ambushed their victims, subjecting them to violence, robbery, deprivation of liberty, and various forms of humiliation according to the indictment.
Prosecutors described how the attackers used everyday objects as weapons. These included a keychain, a bicycle training wheel, and the drawstring from a hooded sweatshirt. In one attack, two previously convicted teenagers filmed themselves beating and kicking a man while shouting numerous insults at him.
Another victim was ambushed by three of the already convicted youths. One teenager acted as bait according to court documents. The attackers used a walking stick and a glove with plastic reinforcement as weapons during this assault.
The violence escalated in some cases. One man was forced to crawl, bark, sit, and give paw like a dog. Another had his pants and underwear pulled down while being forced into a fire pit, where he was further humiliated.
Some of the assaults were filmed by the perpetrators. The teenagers also stole thousands of kroner from one victim's bank card after beating him.
It remains unclear which specific charges the three 18-year-olds were found guilty of in the current case. The court has not detailed the reasoning behind its sentencing decisions.
This case highlights the dangers of vigilante justice, where self-appointed crime fighters often become criminals themselves through their actions.