Man left tied up for six hours
The victim of an absconded psychiatric patient has warned users of mobile dating apps to be more careful following his ordeal.
On December 28, ‘Richard’ was tied up, with his consent, by a man at his Zetland home. The pair had met through the mobile dating app Recon.
But after tying Richard up, the man left the premises with his car, iPad, bank cards and two mobile phones. Richard was unable to free himself for six hours and contacted police the following day.
Richard later learned the man was on day release from Morriset Hospital, a psychiatric prison where he was being treated after killing another man he met online in 2003.
“When I met him there was no indication anything was wrong,” Richard told the Star Observer.
“How does a killer get day release, get a mobile phone, get on the internet?”
Richard said he would never use dating apps again and was concerned by the ease people could set up profiles without having to confirm their identity.
“There needs to be more security and safety measures put in place with these apps,” Richard said.
“Tell a buddy who you’re hooking up with and keep a spare mobile phone hidden in the house.”
Although the man missed his hospital curfew on December 28, he was allowed day release the following day.
When he missed the 7.30pm curfew the second time, hospital staff contacted the police.
It is understood the man had recently obtained a passport and drivers licence while skipping Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous sessions he was supposed to be attending on day release.
He was arrested in Byron Bay on January 4 and charged with robbery, detaining a person with intent to obtain advantage, and taking and driving a conveyance without the consent of its owner.
Richard said he had interacted with the man online for more than a month before meeting him and had no indication that he was mentally ill – let alone a killer out on day release.
He said he knew of other Recon users who claimed to have been chatting with the man for more than nine months and was shocked that a man convicted of killing someone during a sexual encounter had access to mobile or internet dating while under psychiatric supervision.
Richard did not support a blanket ban on day release for mental patients with violent pasts, but said authorities needed to do more to ensure patients were going where they said they were going when on day release.
“This guy didn’t turn up to his AA meetings and other scheduled meetings and no one reported it,” he said.
“I’m all for rehabilitation over incarceration, but someone needs to be held accountable.”
Richard has not ruled out taking legal action against the NSW Government over his ordeal.
DR GEORGE: Online dating safety
Sorry to hear that Richard, I hope things get better for you in time.
In the old, days I remember stories of drinks spiked, and the victim wakes a few days later, and everything is gone. Not much has changed I guess…. just the way people are targeted.
Lets see — the man was tied up and left tied up for 6 hours and the picture shows a …oh wait….. A TIED UP MAN’s HANDS!
OMG!!!! HOW DARE THEY!!!
Someone call the politically correct police – things are getting so out of control.
Stylised? That’s a perfectly good start to a tie ;)
I’d have been more firm than ‘not ruling out’ action though. I’m all for being litiginous with such egregious duty of care breaches, cripes.
I find the attached image rather unfortunate in context of this article. Would you have put a stylized, fetishized, titillating image of a bound women, had the gender of the victim been female?