Honeytrap youths attacked men lured by dating site girl
A GANG of three young men and a 17-year-old girl are to be sentenced over violent ‘honeytrap’ attacks they carried out on men lured to remote areas with t he promise of sexual encounters with the girl.
All four used a dating website for their scam – and brandished weapons including a gun, a bat and a hammer to scare the victims into handing over their valuables and bank PINs.
Roscommon Circuit Court heard yesterday that two Dublin men were lured after the 17-year- old schoolgirl, who cannot be named, posted her profile on a website seeking liaisons with men.
Judge Tony Hunt heard one man from Dublin got in touch with the girl, who used the name ‘Emma’ on the website. She invited him to meet her on June 18 l ast in Strokestown, Co. Roscommon.
Using the profile name ‘Amber’, she told another man from Dublin a week later who got in touch she was ‘up for anything’. The girl posted two profile photographs. Judge Hunt said the gang, all of whom pleaded guilty to false imprisonment as well as a variety of theft charges, exploited gullible men. He said the victims had expected some sexual encounter and were subjected to assault, false imprisonment and robbery.
Before the court were Jack Thame, 20, Jonathan Fitzpatrick, 19, and Anthony Carolan, 21, all f rom Strokestown. All three pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment, assault and robbery of the first man on June 18 last, while Thame and Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to the charges in relation to the second man a week later.
The schoolgirl also pleaded guilty to the charges in relation to both men. She will be sentenced next week, along with Carolan. Both were remanded on bail.
Thame and Fitzpatrick were remanded in custody and will be sentenced on May 26.
The court was told that the first victim was approached by a number of men when he met the girl. They were armed with a baton, hammer and baseball bat.
The victim was attacked and hit over the head, had his hands tied and his head covered. His wallet and iPhone were taken and he gave the gang his bank PIN.
He was bundled into the boot of his own car and taken to a forest before one of the gang went to an ATM to withdraw cash. When one of the kidnappers failed to get any money out, the victim was taken
Victims expected sexual encounter
to an ATM. After he was also unable to retrieve any money, he was allowed drive away.
Judge Hunt was told that in the second incident a number of men appeared and attacked their victim, hitting him over the head with a baseball bat and causing a wound which required stitching. He told gardaí he thought the men were going to kill him.
They demanded his wallet and PIN and they later got €600 from his account.