A man met a 22-year-old woman through a dating application, led her to a home on Edgewood Avenue and raped her at gunpoint inside, according to police.
The woman told officers she had talked with the man through the dating app called “Tagged” and went to 163 Edgewood Ave. with him, soon after they met, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman. As the man led her upstairs, she told police, he pulled out a gun and raped her on the second-floor landing.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours Monday.
She called police right afterward and said she thought the rapist was still inside. “Officers spotted a man matching the perpetrator’s description open a door on the third floor. When the man spotted the officers, he closed it,” Hartman reported.
Eventually, the suspect opened the door and police took him into custody. Forensic detectives processed the crime scene found on the second-floor landing. Police charged the man “with aggravated sexual assault in the first degree, unlawful restraint in the first degree, threatening in the first degree, reckless endangerment in the first degree and breach of peace in the second degree.” The man was visiting a relative who lives at the house on Edgewood Avenue.
Hartman also included a “cautionary message” to those who use dating apps such as Tagged:
“With the ever-growing popularity of dating applications and certain on-line dating sites, these crimes are being reported more and more across the country. Although we do not point fingers at the victims of such horrible crimes, it is important for us to be able to say, Beware.
“One should never agree to meet a stranger at a private unfamiliar location. One should scrutinize any questionable dating app or on-line site. If you use such a dating app, arrange the meeting on your terms in a public place and make sure to tell a trusted friend your intentions and always have a plan to ensure your safety.
“We do not broad-brush all such sites and applications, but just as we caution people about on-line purchases, so do we about such matters.”
No gun charges?????????Lets put this fellow away.