He couldn’t be reached for comment.īut for sexual predators, Grindr provides a space to find many real underage boys.
#Gay dating sights for underage boys trial#
He pleaded not guilty, and a jury trial is scheduled for October. He is facing charges in Fitchburg District Court for allegedly attempting to meet a 15-year-old boy on Grindr, who turned out to be a decoy. They pose as underage boys and then film their interactions with men who come to meet them.Ī Northborough man appears to have fallen into this trap last year. The app also has become a rich hunting ground for law enforcement and self-described activists modeled after the former NBC program, “To Catch a Predator.” Groups across the country are looking to shame adult men seeking sex with children and, in some cases, turning them over to the police. And in 2017, a Colorado man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for luring underage boys he met on Grindr into sexual servitude. In 2019, a former Newburyport City Council president was sentenced to 2 ½ years in state prison after pleading guilty to raping a 15-year-old he met on Grindr.
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The officer pleaded not guilty, and the next hearing is scheduled for August. Since 2015, more than 100 men across the United States - including police officers, priests and teachers - have faced charges related to sexually assaulting minors or attempting sexual activity with youth they met on Grindr, according to a GBH News search of public records.Īmong them, a Lawrence police officer is currently facing charges in Essex County Superior Court for allegedly raping a 13-year-old he met on the app in 2018. “Grindr is also at fault for knowing that this is happening and not doing anything about it.” “It creates an easy place for sexual predators to look for these kids,” said Jack Turban, a fellow in child and adolescent psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. But an investigation by the the GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting finds that too often the adult men they meet are dangerous and the encounters can lead to sexual exploitation, assault and trafficking. Some like Chavez are looking to find sex buyers to survive. Many LGBTQ teens are seeking connection in a world that provides few safe spaces, researchers say.
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In a statement to Chicago Tribue, a Grindr spokesperson said: “Grindr does not condone illegal or improper behaviour and we are troubled that an underage person may have been using our app in violation of our terms of service.The company touts its mobile platform as “The World’s Largest Social Networking App for Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer People” and says its users have to be 18 years old and older.īut the app is teeming with underage gay, bisexual and questioning boys, according to researchers, child exploitation specialists and users like Chavez who say they can easily lie about their age to gain access to the service. PinkNews has contacted Grindr and Scruff to comment both on the results and on evidence that people are using their apps who are below the minimum age requirements by entering false date of birth details. “So there is some evidence that youth are getting lots more out of these apps than just sexual relationships.” A gay couple in bed (rt69/) “But we also found that although you might have had sexual relations with these folks, these folks might have turned into friends, they might have turned into boyfriends. Macapagal, who is assistant professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, added: “Youth who use these apps are, many times, also looking for partners on Facebook, Instagram, Tinder…If you’re using something like Grindr, the likelihood of you having a sexual relationship with this person is higher.