Clay County – Following the Clay County Sheriff’s Office arresting a man accused of robbing people he met on a dating app, News4Jax spoke with a retired police officer about safe dating tips.
Retired Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police officer James Brown described what 18-year-old Adam Ayers did as someone who was trying to take advantage of others.
Recommended Videos
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office posted a photo of a man and asked for the public’s help identifying them.
According to deputies, the man was 18-year-old Ayers who’s accused of robbing at least three people he met while using the dating app Grindr.
According to Grindr’s website, it is the largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people.
Deputies said Ayers used different profiles, with the name “Larry”.
Then he’d arrange to meet victims in a secluded location.
Once the victims arrived, he brandished a firearm and demanded cash from them.
In two incidents, deputies said Ayers forced victims to drive him to an ATM, withdraw cash from their accounts and transfer money to a Cash App Account.
On Saturday in a Facebook Live, Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook announced Ayers is facing multiple charges.
Those include carjacking while carrying a firearm, kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated battery.
Ayers arrests highlights the dangers of dating online.
According to the latest data from PEW Research in 2020, 17% of Lesbian, gay and bisexual adults and seven percent of straight adults say someone on a dating site or app threatened to physically harm them.
The sheriff also mentioned the investigation is ongoing and her department is asking anybody with more information or if there are more victims to come forward.
Brown said he believes there could be more victims out there, but people might be afraid to speak up because of the connotation surrounding the app.
“The potential victims are not as likely to want to report that out of fear of embarrassment or public ridicule,” Brown said.
He also mentioned it’s difficult to know who you are talking to on dating apps, but it’s important to remain safe.
“Well I would think that the first thing you would want to do is when using an internet dating site is make sure the site has some verification process built into the site that identifies it’s users or members,” Brown said.
He also said other tips people should use when using a dating app is meet the other person in a well populated area and let others know you are going to meet someone.