Teenager jailed for armed robbery of man he met on dating app

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A teenager has been jailed for robbing an older man at knifepoint after arranging to meet him on a dating app.

Ashley Jackson, aged 19, admitted to threatening the man in his 40s with a knife before stealing £180 in cash from him.

After meeting on a dating website, the pair arranged to see each other in person on 11 November, at an address in Hackney, London.

They spent some time together before Jackson pulled a knife from his sleeve and threatened the man, demanding that he give him money, according to the Metropolitan Police.

He then took the cash, called a taxi and left the property, Scotland Yard said.

Jackson was arrested four days later, following an investigation by detectives from the force’s central east command unit.

A month later, at Snaresbrook Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to the robbery.

He was sentenced at the same court on Wednesday to three years and four months in prison for robbery, and six months for being in possession of a knife.

Jackson, of Barbauld Road in Stoke Newington, will serve the two sentences concurrently.

“The effects of becoming a victim of robbery, particularly where there is threat of violence, run far deeper than a loss of cash or property – they can be traumatic and long-lasting,” said Detective Constable Alex O’Sullivan.

“Jackson has now been removed from the community, where he can no longer victimise the public. I sincerely hope this brings the victim the sense that justice has been served.”

High-profile cases such as that of “Grindr killer” Stephen Port, who murdered four young men and committed crimes against seven others before he was caught, have brought the potential dangers of dating apps into sharper focus since their emergence more than a decade ago.

Analysis by the National Crime Agency in 2022 found that, although reports of sexual assaults relating to dating apps had remained “fairly stable” since 2016, such reports by teenage girls had nearly doubled, from 12 to 22 per cent, with those filed by teenage boys rising from 25 to 31 per cent.

Police chiefs warned in 2019 that dating apps were being used by criminals to find targets for robberies and carjackings, with victims stabbed and thrown from vehicles after arranging to meet those they believed were potential romantic partners.

While stressing that such cases were a “tiny minority” of dates arranged online, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for robbery, Sarah Boycott urged people to “take precautions”.

“Criminals are very resourceful, and it is an opportunity if someone is meeting them in a dark or quiet place,” she told The Independent at the time.

“My advice is to take three simple steps – know who you’re meeting as much as possible, let somebody know who and where you are meeting, and meet somewhere in daylight that is very public.”