Naked Grindr pair jailed for false imprisonment
A naked couple, who lured a man to a house through Grindr, before subjecting him to a vicious attack and robbery, have been jailed for six years each.
20-year-olds, Jordan Bridge-Simmons and Tyrone Platt, used the dating app to convince their victim to come to the home of Bridge-Simmons’ mother in Little Billing, Northamptonshire, on July 21, last year.
There, they beat him up in a dark bedroom and scraped knives together to put him in a state of fear.
Platt then took the man to a cash machine and forced him to withdraw £300, while Bridge-Simmons drunkenly drove his car into a neighbour’s mini and house.
Last month, a jury at Northampton Crown Court found the pair guilty of false imprisonment and Bridge-Simmons of actual bodily harm and robbery.
Platt had earlier admitted attacking the victim and robbing him and Bridge-Simmons of stealing the car and driving while drunk.
In sentencing, Recorder Kelly, said the false imprisonment charge was the most serious.
“He was subject to a terrifying ordeal. He was assaulted, locked in a room where there were knives and at points you were both naked,” he said.
“He was humiliated by your behaviour and I can’t imagine how frightened he would have been.
“You were targeting older gay men, The reason was that you felt they would be less likely to report this matter to police.”
The court heard how the attack continued for over an hour and at one point Bridge-Simmons and the victim fell down the stairs, where both defendants then kicked him in the head and stomach.
When the man was finally released, Platt told him to report his car as stolen in the morning, but instead he headed to the nearest police station where he told officers of his ordeal.
After crashing the car, Bridge-Simmons was taken to Northampton General Hospital and placed in intensive care, where a blood sample showed he was double the legal limit.
He was subsequently arrested at the hospital, as was Platt when he came to visit.
In their defence, Platt had claimed he was a male escort and they had agreed a fee of £250 for sex.
The jury, however, found them guilty of all charges that went to trial.
Recorder Kelly told the pair they must spend at least four years behind bars.
