Latest news with #AbdullahBloch
Sydney Morning Herald
7 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Judge blasts dating app assaults on gay men as ‘horrific example of groupthink'
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT A judge has blasted the actions of three young men who used dating apps like Grindr to lure, violently assault and rob men in Melbourne parks as a horrific example of groupthink. Abdullah Bloch, Albin Idrizi and Madhi Nowruzi, all aged 20, pleaded guilty to charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault-related offences at the County Court of Victoria, claiming their actions were a case of 'mistaken vigilantism' against men they suspected to be sex offenders. However, Judge Simon Moglia flatly dismissed the claim saying there was 'no reasonable basis' for them holding that view. 'I find that your offending can only be understood as a horrific example of groupthink and immature, misguided, mutual peer pressure aimed at attacking individual men in vulnerable circumstances in order to make 'easy money',' he said. In May, police said at least 35 arrests had been made around Melbourne for assault, robbery, false imprisonment and even extortion in a new form of homophobic violence in which perpetrators use apps such as TikTok to post and boast about their crimes. At a previous hearing, the court heard disturbing details of the trio's crimes including how they lured men into parks or quiet streets after connecting with them on dating sites including Grindr and Scruff, using fake profiles before brutally assaulting and robbing them. In one incident, a victim aged in his 50s was falsely told that he was meeting a 15-year-old boy after first matching with one of the men who used a fake profile of a 22-year-old man. Graphic video footage of his assault, captured on a smartphone, showed the victim being set upon by the men, who accused him of sexual misconduct and being a paedophile. The man is seen screaming and pleading for his life as he is violently assaulted, choked and then beaten with a metal pole.
The Age
7 days ago
- The Age
Judge blasts dating app assaults on gay men as ‘horrific example of groupthink'
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT A judge has blasted the actions of three young men who used dating apps like Grindr to lure, violently assault and rob men in Melbourne parks as a horrific example of groupthink. Abdullah Bloch, Albin Idrizi and Madhi Nowruzi, all aged 20, pleaded guilty to charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault-related offences at the County Court of Victoria, claiming their actions were a case of 'mistaken vigilantism' against men they suspected to be sex offenders. However, Judge Simon Moglia flatly dismissed the claim saying there was 'no reasonable basis' for them holding that view. 'I find that your offending can only be understood as a horrific example of groupthink and immature, misguided, mutual peer pressure aimed at attacking individual men in vulnerable circumstances in order to make 'easy money',' he said. In May, police said at least 35 arrests had been made around Melbourne for assault, robbery, false imprisonment and even extortion in a new form of homophobic violence in which perpetrators use apps such as TikTok to post and boast about their crimes. At a previous hearing, the court heard disturbing details of the trio's crimes including how they lured men into parks or quiet streets after connecting with them on dating sites including Grindr and Scruff, using fake profiles before brutally assaulting and robbing them. In one incident, a victim aged in his 50s was falsely told that he was meeting a 15-year-old boy after first matching with one of the men who used a fake profile of a 22-year-old man. Graphic video footage of his assault, captured on a smartphone, showed the victim being set upon by the men, who accused him of sexual misconduct and being a paedophile. The man is seen screaming and pleading for his life as he is violently assaulted, choked and then beaten with a metal pole.
