By Rebecca Peppiatt
Two more boys have been arrested by police over a series of homophobic attacks on men that had been lured to a meeting point via a dating app.
A 15-year-old and a 16-year-old appeared in court on Thursday over the violent assaults, as two more teenagers — a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old, both from Hamilton Hill — were also arrested.
Police are investigating.Credit: Peter de Kruijff
WA Police allege a number of men had spoken to what they believed was a legitimate person online, before arranging to meet them in person where they were then allegedly assaulted.
On Thursday, detectives revealed they had arrested a 15 and a 16-year-old from Hilton and South Lakes over two incidents involving men in their 30s.
Police allege the group lured one of the victims to Stillwater Gardens in South Lake about 1am on Wednesday, where he was approached by a group of males who began to verbally abuse him.
They claim the victim then retreated to his vehicle and locked the doors.
Police say the group then surrounded the car, damaging the rear boot and side panel in attempt to steal it.
“Several rocks were thrown at the vehicle as the victim drove away, causing irreparable damage to the windscreen,” a police spokesperson said.
Police claimed a second similar incident occurred a short time later in the same location.
That victim, they allege, had his jacket and keys stolen from him. They also allege the group stole his car and fled the area with it.
Later that day police conducted a search of a South Lake home, leading to the arrest of the boys.
All four teens have been charged with aggravated armed robbery, attempted aggravated robbery, criminal damage or destruction of property and steal motor vehicle.
On Thursday two of the boys appeared in Perth Children’s Court which heard one of them was on bail for other offending at the time of the incident.
It also heard the boys were armed with pepper spray, crow bars and a machete during the attacks.
Police said the victims were subjected to homophobic slurs during the assaults and that some of the assaults were filmed and posted to social media.
They are urging people who identify with the diverse sexuality and/or gender (DSG) community to exercise caution when arranging meetings through online dating websites and applications.
“We take this behaviour extremely seriously and there is no place for this kind of targeted violence in our community,” Detective Inspector Matt Froude said.
“While incidents of this nature are rare, we treat them with the utmost seriousness and we encourage victims to come forward so we can investigate.”
Froude said dating app users should take steps to ensure their safety.
“If you arrange to meet with someone over a dating app, meet in a public, well-lit place with plenty of people around,” he said.
“Let your family and friends know where you are going and who you are arranging to meet.
“Some of these apps have built-in safety features that allow you to share your live location with trusted contacts for added security during meet ups.”
The 15-year-old boy will be back before the court on September 26.
The 16-year-old will be back before the court next week, where he will apply for bail.
Both boys have been remanded in custody.