Tag Archives: Grindr

Michigan Live reports: Mark David Latunski, the Shiawassee County man accused of killing and dismembering 25-year-old Kevin Bacon in December 2019, has pleaded guilty. Latunski, 52, appeared before Judge Matthew J. Stewart of the 35th Circuit Court Thursday, Sept. 22, and pleaded guilty as charged to open murder and mutilation of a body. A degree hearing will be held on …

Flagler Live reports: Alphonso Joseph, a 48-year-old Palm Coast resident and pastor associated with several Bunnell churches and spiritual organizations, was arrested Friday and charged with molesting a 15-year-old boy in a vehicle on the Matanzas Woods Golf Course. Joseph himself may have inadvertently attracted sheriff’s deputies to the area: the 911 center had received a noise complaint late the …

Axios reports: Grindr is partnering with Spectrum Labs, tapping the startup’s AI-based system to help filter postings on the LGBTQ dating service. For years, Grindr has chosen not to implement an AI system for content moderation, not because it didn’t want to augment its keyword-based filtering system, but because it was concerned that the models weren’t sensitive enough to keep …

The New York Daily News reports: “Andi Mack” alum Stoney Westmoreland, accused of trying to lure a minor into sex, has been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading down to a lesser charge. Westmoreland, who played the grandfather on the Disney Channel sitcom, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of using interstate facilities to transmit information about a …

Bloomberg News reports: Grindr LLC, the dating app that specializes in connections for the LGBTQ+ community, has agreed to go public through a blank-check firm in a deal that values the combined company at $2.1 billion including debt. The predominantly male dating app is merging with Tiga Acquistion Corp., which debuted in November 2020. The special purpose acquisition company isn’t …

Engadget reports: Grindr’s past willingness to share sensitive data may have been more problematic than previously thought. The Wall Street Journal understands precise Grindr user location data was collected from the online ad network MoPub (once owned by Twitter) and put on sale through its partner company UberMedia (now UM) since “at least” 2017. The LGBTQ dating app curbed the …

Tampa’s ABC News affiliate reports: The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said its undercover detectives have been using dating apps to track down a number of people suspected of buying and selling drugs in the area. A 6-month undercover sting, called “Swipe Left for Meth,” yielded more than 60 arrests, the agency said. Detectives also obtained warrants for eight people. The …

The Associated Press reports: Norway’s data privacy watchdog on Wednesday fined gay dating app Grindr 65 million kroner ($7.16 million) for sending sensitive personal data to hundreds of potential advertising partners without users’ consent — a breach of strict European Union privacy rules. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority said it imposed its highest fine to date because the California-based company …

From the Department of Justice: An Oregon man has been charged with a federal hate crime after using the internet to target and brutally assault a gay man because of his sexual orientation. Daniel Andrew McGee, of Springfield, has been charged by criminal complaint with a hate crime. The complaint alleges that McGee attempted to kill the victim. According to …

From the Department of Justice: Daniel Jenkins, 22, of Dallas was sentenced today for committing violent crimes as part of a conspiracy to target users of the dating app Grindr. Jenkins was sentenced to a federal prison term of 280 months for his involvement in the scheme to target gay men for violent crimes. He is the last of four …

The Insider reports: Melania Trump’s chief of staff Lindsay Reynolds informed Grisham one day in early 2018 that one of Grisham’s closest friends in the White House was being fired due to an “issue with his security clearance,” despite having worked for former President Donald Trump for “more than three years.” Grisham, who then served as the first lady’s press …

The Washington Post reports: The top administrator of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops resigned after a Catholic media site told the conference it had access to cellphone data that appeared to show he was a regular user of Grindr, the queer dating app, and frequented gay bars. Some privacy experts said that they couldn’t recall other instances of phone …

Via press release from the Justice Department: Three Texas men were sentenced yesterday for violent crimes. Michael Atkinson, 28, Pablo Ceniceros-Deleon, 21, and Daryl Henry, 24, were sentenced to prison terms for their involvement in a scheme to target gay men for violent crimes. Atkinson was sentenced to over 11 years in prison, Ceniceros-Deleon was sentenced to 22 years in …

Via press release from the Justice Department: A Texas man pleaded guilty yesterday to federal hate crime charges in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. According to court documents, Daniel Jenkins, 22, of Dallas, pleaded guilty yesterday to a federal hate crime and two other charges in connection with his involvement in a scheme to target …

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports: Authorities are warning members of Atlanta’s LGBT community to remain cautious following a string of robberies that began as conversations on the popular gay dating app Grindr. Investigators said several men have been robbed in recent months and believe there may be additional victims who have not come forward. “From February to May, we have …

Via press release from the Justice Department: A Louisiana man was indicted and charged today in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana on six counts, including hate crime, kidnapping, firearm and obstruction charges. Chance Seneca, 19, of Lafayette, was charged by a federal grand jury on March 18 based on his attempted murder of a gay man and …

The Star Observer reports: After a gay man in Houston, Texas was found murdered, police investigators have tracked down and charged the alleged perpetrator Benjamin Davis with capital murder. The victim, the police have said, was targeted for robbery through gay hook up app Grindr. The victim, identified as Victor Najera Betanzos had arranged to meet with Davis at his …

The New York Daily News reports: A U.K. couple has been found guilty of killing an Irish man by poisoning him with a powerful drug known as “devil’s breath.” Joel Osei, 25, and Diana Cristea, 19, were arrested after the body of Adrian Murphy, a 43-year-old champion dancer, was found in his South London apartment in June 2019. Investigators say …

The New York Daily News reports: A Bronx man is accused of hacking to death with a machete a man he met on a dating hook up app — and his roommate walked in on the bloody aftermath, police sources said Monday. Juan Alonso, 50, was charged Monday with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. Cops are still …

The New York Daily News reports: The pastor of a Queens church was accused Wednesday of vile sexts with a 15-year-old boy in Westchester. St. Pancras Church Pastor Francis Hughes, 65, swapped nauseating messages with the boy about masturbation and other unholy topics. Hughes lied and told the teen he was a part-time college professor and counselor, prosecutors said. The …