Teens accused of gay 'hate crimes' after men lured to location and attacked, appear in Perth court
Two teenage boys have been accused of "hate crimes" as part of an alleged catfishing scheme using a dating app to lure gay men to meet face-to-face before attacking them.
The two boys, aged 15 and 16, appeared in a Perth court on Thursday charged over the alleged assault of two men in their 30s yesterday morning.
Late on Thursday afternoon, police revealed they had charged a further two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, in relation to the incidents.
Police allege the "homophobic assaults" occurred when the boys lured two men to vacant land in the southern Perth suburb of South Lake.
The prosecutor told the Perth Children's Court a group of boys used the gay dating app Grindr to "lure" victims to a location by posing as a man interested in having a sexual encounter.
She told the court when the alleged victims arrived, they were confronted by a group of males armed with crowbars, machetes, pepper spray and other weapons and the alleged assault was filmed on a mobile phone.
"These are hate crimes," the prosecutor said.
"Homophobic hate crimes?" the judge asked, to which the prosecutor agreed, describing it as "targeted, premeditated offending".
Police said the group also threw rocks at the vehicle of an alleged victim, smashing the windscreen and side of his car as he drove away.
The teenagers allegedly then stole the car of the second victim and left him with serious injuries including a "large" laceration to his arm.
The prosecutor told the court recordings of the incidents were found by police on phones at the two co-accused's homes, along with clothing matching that worn by those depicted in the videos.
She said there were three other “remaining suspects” police were looking for.
The court heard the older of the two boys was on bail for an earlier alleged assault occasioning bodily harm in July, while the 15-year-old had "no record to speak of".
The lawyer for the 15-year-old sought bail on the basis that while the offences were serious, they may not result in a jail term if he was convicted.
She told the court he was regularly attending Year 10 at school and football training.
However the judge declined to consider bail, instead ordering a bail report, saying these were "very, very serious offences".
WA Premier Roger Cook condemned the alleged attack.
"We want Western Australia to be a peaceful, inclusive and safe place for everyone to live and there is no room for that sort of activity."
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
ABC News 19/09/24
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