Illinois Teens Arrested After Gay-Bashing Social Media Trend
Image: Manu Del Moral/Unsplash
11 teenagers in Illinois have been arrested after allegedly attacking two men that they lured through a gay dating app. The incident comes after similar attacks were reported across Sydney throughout 2024.
Police say the teenagers attacked the two men, aged 41 and 23, in two seperate incidents on the evening of July 8, 2024. Both were respondents to ads placed on an unnamed gay dating app. Once the men arrived at their agreed upon meet up locations, the teens are alleged to have attacked the men and vandalised their cars. The men were able to escape and contact emergency services.
The teenagers, aged 16 and 17, were identified through video surveillance footage, and all voluntarily surrendered for arrest between November 11 and 20. They were charged with either one or two felony counts each of Aggravated Battery, Criminal Damage to Property, and Mob Action. One of the 17-year-olds “yelled a racial and another derogatory term” during the attacks and was also charged with two counts of Hate Crime.
Investigators discovered that the idea had come from a social media trend, and the Mount Prospect Police Department have advised parents to speak to their children about partaking in social media trends.
“We are asking parents to take these incidents as an opportunity to talk with their teenage children about the seriousness of actively participating in these types of trends they see on social media,” Police Chief Michael Eterno said.
Social media trend behind attacks
A series of “gay-bashings” were reported to police across Sydney’s northern beaches, western and south-western suburbs throughout last year.
The attacks follow the same pattern: individual men agree to meet with someone from a dating app in a public park, only to be attacked by a gang of teenagers, who beat, and sometimes rob, their victim. Multiple groups also forced their victims to confess to pedophilia in order to stop the assault.
Footage from the Australian attacks had been found posted to TikTok and Instagram as part of a trend teens have dubbed “pedo hunting”. Illinois police have not divulged more information about the specific trend their teenagers were participating in.
In a statement to Star Observer in December, Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said she was “appalled” to see these attacks in Sydney.
“The threats to our community are very real and extremely concerning. We’re seeing an increase in hate against LGBTIQ+ people across the country, which demands an urgent response from governments and justice agencies.
“All Australians have a right to feel safe and respected and everyone should be able to take part in public life without fear.”
