Teens Luring And Robbing Gay Sydney Men In Homophobic Attacks

Groups of teenagers are weaponising dating apps to lure, attack, and rob men around Sydney, with more than a dozen homophobic attacks and assaults taking place this year.

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported on a series of “gay-bashings” across the northern beaches, western and south-western suburbs, all following the same methods.

Individual men agree to meet with someone from a dating app in a public park, only to be attacked by a gang of teenagers, who rob and beat their victim, sometimes using weapons. Multiple groups have forced their victims to confess to pedophilia in order to stop the assault.

Footage from the homophobic attacks has been found posted to TikTok and Instagram as part of a trend called “pedo hunting”, though it has now been removed.

New South Wales Police have been running multiple strike forces and investigations into the assaults since January.

Strike Force Section was initiated after a quick succession of attacks in early April, including on a 16-year-old boy.

Homophobic attacks linked to extremist groups

After the stabbing of a preacher at a Wakefield church earlier this year, police found extremist material on the phone of the perpetrator, which led to the arrests of six of his friends, who were charged with terror offences.

However, investigators allegedly found evidence that members of the same group had been involved in other hate crimes in the city’s west and inner west.

At least five boys aged between 14 and 17 were allegedly linked to the group, and were charged with assault, robbery, and “corporal violence” for the possession of unauthorised pistols.

Similar arrests are occurring in the northern beaches, with police charging 14 young people for numerous incidents of assault and extortion.

A police source told the Herald that the true number of assaults is unknown because the gangs will sometimes target members of religious communities, where anti-gay stigma and forced confessions can discourage victims from making reports.

‘We’re seeing an increase in hate against LGBTIQ+ people’