Perth boys jailed over series of violent ‘premeditated' attacks on gay men
A group of boys aged between 15 and 17 have jailed over a spate of violent assaults on several different men in September last year.
The five teenagers, who cannot be named because of their age, lured the strangers to various locations in Perth's south-west after using a fake profile on gay dating app Grindr.
Dressed in black and wearing masks, the boys assaulted five men in separate instances over two days, attacking them with metal poles, a crowbar, pepper spray, a knife, and a Taser, Perth Children's Court was told on Wednesday.
The terrified men were also verbally abused by the teens. On one occasion, one was warned, 'Shut your f---ing mouth, or I will stab you'.
One man was stripped of his clothes and had a front tooth knocked out before he ran naked into a swamp where he waited in waist-deep water for the group to leave.
After climbing out of the water, he passed out before running to a nearby house for help.
On another occasion, one of the victims managed to get back to his car and drive away before the group then threw large rocks at his vehicle.
Some of the assaults were filmed by one of the 17-year-olds, who texted one of his co-offenders before the boy joined in the assault. The court was told he had 'misguided vigilantism' as he believed without basis he was assaulting paedophiles.
The same boy also took a 'trophy photo' with one of the men he had assaulted before turning it into a meme. Many of the photos and videos were distributed on social media platforms.
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Perth boys jailed over series of violent ‘premeditated' attacks on gay men
A group of boys aged between 15 and 17 have jailed over a spate of violent assaults on several different men in September last year. The five teenagers, who cannot be named because of their age, lured the strangers to various locations in Perth's south-west after using a fake profile on gay dating app Grindr. Dressed in black and wearing masks, the boys assaulted five men in separate instances over two days, attacking them with metal poles, a crowbar, pepper spray, a knife, and a Taser, Perth Children's Court was told on Wednesday. The terrified men were also verbally abused by the teens. On one occasion, one was warned, 'Shut your f---ing mouth, or I will stab you'. One man was stripped of his clothes and had a front tooth knocked out before he ran naked into a swamp where he waited in waist-deep water for the group to leave. After climbing out of the water, he passed out before running to a nearby house for help. On another occasion, one of the victims managed to get back to his car and drive away before the group then threw large rocks at his vehicle. Some of the assaults were filmed by one of the 17-year-olds, who texted one of his co-offenders before the boy joined in the assault. The court was told he had 'misguided vigilantism' as he believed without basis he was assaulting paedophiles. The same boy also took a 'trophy photo' with one of the men he had assaulted before turning it into a meme. Many of the photos and videos were distributed on social media platforms.
