Florida man who allegedly lured women with dating app could have more victims: authorities
Palm Beach County authorities ask women to come forward if they encountered a Florida man who allegedly met the victims through online dating platforms.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office filed the request July 14, five months after responding to an application. sexual abuse investigation In a hospital in Florida. The victim said she met the alleged attacker, Stephen Hakim, on Hinge. Detectives later matched Hakim’s DNA to samples found on the victim, according to court documents.
Toxicology testing detected multiple sleeping pills in the woman’s blood and urine samples. He told MPs that he did not take these items.
Hakim, of Delray Beach, was arrested and charged with sexual assault on July 8. He was released the next day on $25,000 bail. He pleaded not guilty.
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Stephen Hakim, 27, of Delray Beach, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met on the dating app Hinge.
After matching with Hakim on Hinge, the woman told deputies they exchanged messages on the app for about an hour. Reports indicate that the conversation later moved to phone messages and video calls.
Deputies reviewed the messages in court documents and found that the alleged victim and the 27-year-old Hakim agreed to meet later that day for a “relaxed evening to talk” without “any expectations or pretensions.” According to court records, the woman told deputies that Hakim picked her up in his car to go to a bar around 11 p.m. But instead he took her to his apartment.
He recalled getting into his black Tesla while going “90 to 100 miles per hour,” according to court documents. He reported that his “very clean” apartment had little furniture and no television or pets. The woman told MPs they drank four beers and discussed matters such as work. The alleged victim told deputies that Hakim then offered to give her a massage. He told MPs he was “extremely tired” at the time and “couldn’t stand up” without being attacked. He later became “very upset” and told Hakim: he raped herhe told lawmakers. He reportedly asked what Judge was referring to in his “gaslighting” behavior, records show.
Hakim’s lawyer said in a statement to many news outlets that his client rejected allegations that his actions were “non-consensual.” The company did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Experts say dating app users should watch out for warning signs, including vague profiles and quick requests to take conversations off-platform.
About 53 percent of adults ages 18 to 29 I used a dating appThe 2023 Pew Research report showed this. Since the late ’90s, the online dating industry has “transformed” the way some adults find potential partners. wrote the study researchers. Megan Cutter, chief of victim services for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), said dating apps are not inherently dangerous. The organization operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline.
Many relationships that begin on dating apps continue to be healthy and long-lasting, he said. But Cutter said perpetrators also use dating platforms to further criminal behavior.
Only a third of victims report their sexual assaults to law enforcement, he said.
Sometimes that’s because abusers and perpetrators threaten to harm victims and their families if they contact authorities, Cutter said.
According to RAINN, one in every six women in the United States has attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Women between the ages of 18 and 24 are at the highest risk of being victims of sexual assault compared to other age groups. “We really want to think about how to stay safe online” when using online dating services, Cutter said. He warned that profiles that do not have a lot of detail, are not linked to social media and are “unbuilt” should cause concern.
“Matches” who want to quickly exchange contact information and move conversations outside of the app should also exercise caution.
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Palm Beach County authorities are searching for other potential victims of Florida man accused of sexual assault, Stephen Hakim.
“Once they have your email or phone number, they can use it to find out where you live or find your social media.”
It warns users to share different photos on a dating profile than on personal social media. That’s because reverse image searches can now quickly link photos to other places they can be found online (social media posts, for example). share personal information.
He said removing metadata from published photos also reduces the risk of personal information being compromised. Metadata is hidden information added to digital files that can be accessed and provide information such as location and date. Cutter said online dating is “something that millions of people use all the time.” “People are finding truly beautiful, healthy and successful relationships online. The real risk is that perpetrators will misuse this tool and harm people.”
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Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigators believe “there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward,” they wrote in a post on social media.
The Special Victims Unit is “seeking the public’s help in identifying anyone who may have met Stephen Hakim, who allegedly met the victims through online dating platforms.”
Original article source: Florida man who allegedly tricked women with dating app may have more victims: authorities
