Men indicted, accused of using Grindr to commit hate crimes

Two men accused of using the LGBT dating app Grindr to lure nine men to a Dallas apartment complex so they could rob and in some cases kidnap and assault them have been charged by a federal grand jury.

Daniel Jenkins, 20, and Daryl Henry, 22, were charged in a 15-count indictment unsealed Wednesday with conspiracy to commit hate crimes, kidnapping and carjacking, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of Texas. They were additionally charged with hate crimes and kidnapping, and Jenkins was charged with carjacking and brandishing a firearm during violent crimes.

The indictment, which supersedes a previously filed indictment, describes crimes committed from Dec. 6, 2017, through Dec. 11, 2017, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The agency didn’t indicate why the charges were announced nearly one and a half years after the crimes.

“Criminals are using apps like Grindr to single out victims based on their sexual orientation,” U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said in the release. “My office is committed to rooting out these despicable crimes motivated by hate.”

A previously unsealed indictment in January named Jenkins and another man, Michael Atkinson, 24, as defendants in a case involving creating fake Grindr profiles to lure gay men to the Solana Ridge Apartment complex in the 8000 block of Chariot Drive in East Dallas. Jenkins allegedly met men at their cars and invited them inside.

Jenkins and Atkinson were arrested in August. Atkinson pleaded guilty in late March to kidnapping and conspiracy charges in connection with the scheme.

Jenkins pleaded not guilty in March and his trial date had been set for September.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t specifically mention this previous indictment on Thursday.

Jenkins and Henry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, created fake profiles on the dating app to recruit nine victims to a Dallas apartment complex. They pointed guns at victims and forced them to give up possessions including wallets, money, cars, drivers’ licenses, cellphones, and credit and debit cards, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

On Dec. 11, 2017, Jenkins and Henry reportedly held five victims against their will. They physically assaulted four victims, sexually assaulted three victims and called some victims gay slurs, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

A defendant urinated and wiped human feces on at least one victim, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The indictment charges Jenkins and Henry with kidnapping four victims. Jenkins was also charged with kidnapping two more victims, carjacking two victims and using a firearm during a carjacking.

Jenkins and Henry face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison if convicted on the hate crime and kidnapping charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They also face a possible five years for the conspiracy charge and a fine of up to $250,000 on each individual charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The FBI Dallas Field Office led the investigation with the help of Dallas police.