The group is accused of luring gay men to various locations across Perth via the app Grindr.
The group is accused of luring gay men to various locations across Perth via the app Grindr.
By Rebecca Peppiatt
March 21, 2025 — 2.00am
A group of six boys are facing a fresh set of charges over a spate of homophobic attacks in Perth where they allegedly used gay dating app Grindr to lure men to various locations before assaulting them with knives, a crow bar and a Taser.
Four men were the alleged victims of the assaults which took place over two days in September last year in the suburbs of South Lake and Hamilton Hill.
On Thursday, five of the boys were presented with new charges in Perth’s Children’s Court over their alleged involvement in the incidents, while a sixth – an 18-year-old man – appeared in court for the first time after he was arrested in February.
Police said the boys, the youngest of which is 15, had collectively been charged with 52 offences including unlawful detainment, unlawful wounding, assault occasioning bodily harm, stealing in circumstances of aggravation and unlawful assault.
Police previously said the victims had been speaking to what they assumed was a legitimate person online, before arranging to meet them in person.
One of the victims was allegedly lured to Stillwater Gardens in South Lake where he was approached by a group of males who began to verbally abuse him with homophobic slurs before assaulting him. Some of the assaults were allegedly filmed and posted to social media.
“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 and again the next day in Hamilton Hill.
In court on Thursday it was revealed that the boys allegedly used knives, metal bars and a Taser to threaten and assault the men.
Four of the accused are currently on bail, while two are awaiting the outcome of the charges from detention.
“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 at the time of the attacks.
“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.”
Lawyers for the boys revealed that some of the charges will be challenged and a two-week trial was tentatively planned for November.
Mobile phone evidence will likely be a large feature of the trial with prosecutors telling the court that experts needed four to six months to analyse the devices and present evidence.
The four male victims were also granted special witness treatment which is usually only reserved for victims of sexual assaults. Children’s Court president Hylton Quail said he would grant the application given “the nature of the charges”.
The group will formerly enter pleas to the charges on May 5.
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Rebecca Peppiatt – is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in crime and courts.Connect via email.