A Dallas man was sentenced for committing violent crimes that targeted users on the dating app Grindr. He received a federal prison term of 280 months for his involvement in the scheme, including three other defendants.
Daniel Jenkins, 22, admitted that he conspired to and then targeted nine men in and around the Dallas area, the United States Department of Justice website reported. The violent crimes included kidnapping, carjacking, and hate crimes. The group targeted the men because of their sexual orientation.
Beginning on or around December 6, 2017, the defendants used Grindr, a social media dating platform mainly used by gay men, to lure men to an apartment complex in Dallas.
Once the men arrived, the conspirators held them at gunpoint and forced them to go to ATMs to withdraw cash from their accounts.
“This defendant targeted innocent victims for violent crimes simply because he believed they were gay,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence affirms that bias-motivated crimes run contrary to our national values and underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to aggressively prosecuting bias-motivated crimes, including crimes against the LGBTQI community. We will continue to pursue justice for victims of bias-motivated crimes, wherever they occur.”
“This defendant singled out victims based on their perceived sexual orientation, then viciously assaulted them. The Department of Justice will not tolerate these sorts of heinous, hate-based attacks,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham for the Northern District of Texas.
“Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, bigots often lurk online. We urge users of dating apps like Grindr to remain vigilant.”
“This sentence sends a strong message that individuals who conduct violent, targeted attacks will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI Dallas Field Office. “Investigating hate crimes is one of the FBI’s highest priorities, and we will continue to vigorously pursue offenders that threaten our families and communities. Everyone deserves to be and feel safe and we take this opportunity to urge the public to report suspected hate crimes to the FBI and local law enforcement.”
Jenkins pleaded guilty in June and says he and others created user profiles on the app and used them to lure men they perceived to be gay to a location to rob them. He also admitted that on December 11, 2017, the group lured multiple victims to the apartment complex, pointed a handgun at them to take their personal property, and assaulted them.
Jenkins also said he knew some of the defendants used gay slurs and taunted the victims, and one defendant attempted to sexually assault one of the victims.
Jenkins was the last to plead guilty in this case. Jenkins pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit hate crimes, kidnapping, and carjacking; one hate crime count; and one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime. Under his plea agreement, Jenkins faced a maximum sentence of 26 years in prison. His coconspirators: Michael Atkinson, Pablo Ceniceros-Deleon, and Daryl Henry, had previously pleaded guilty. Atkinson was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison, Ceniceros-Deleon was sentenced to 22 years in prison, and Henry was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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