Man raped Tinder date while on work trip in California, officials say. He’s convicted
A man accused of raping his Tinder date while in California on business was convicted, prosecutors said.
Nizar Fathallah Saleh Abdelfattah, 37, was found guilty in connection with forcible rape and forcible digital penetration after a trial, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office wrote in a March 13 post on X, formerly called Twitter.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney March 14 and was awaiting a response.
Abdelfattah, described as a Durham, North Carolina, ophthalmologist, was at a Burlingame hotel for business in September 2023 when he met up with a 26-year-old woman he met through Tinder, prosecutors said.
The pair got together for a drink, and the woman said “she was not interested in hooking up,” prosecutors said.
They took a walk and went back to Abdelfattah’s room, “where they were kissing,” according to prosecutors. The woman “told him to stop but (he) forced himself on (her) and eventually raped her,” prosecutors said, adding that she called a friend and immediately made a police report.
Abdelfattah told police that he and the woman kissed but said there were “no other sexual acts,” according to prosecutors. He said the woman “left without complaint.”
In a March 14 email to McClatchy News, a Tinder spokesperson said the company “cannot comment on a specific user’s account, but we prioritize the safety of our users and stand ready to support law enforcement in their investigations, while continuing to invest in safety features and survivor support resources.”
Abdelfattah is scheduled to be sentenced in May, prosecutors said.
Burlingame is about a 20-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.
This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Man raped Tinder date while on work trip in California, officials say. He’s convicted."
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