Man who helped lure gay men to apartment in Dallas and ‘brutalized’ them pleads guilty
The last man in a group of four accused of using Grindr to lure gay men to a vacant apartment in Dallas where they’d be beaten, robbed and sexually assaulted pleaded guilty on Thursday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Daniel Jenkins, 22, pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime and two other charges for his involvement in the attacks.
“These defendants brutalized multiple victims, singling them out due to their sexual orientation. We cannot allow this sort of violence to fester unchecked,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah of the Northern District of Texas in a press release. “The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting hate crimes.”
The victims in the case — nine of them — range in age from 19 to 57.
Jenkins is accused of using Grindr to create fake profiles, posing as gay men and luring men to a vacant apartment at the Solana Ridge Apartment complex in the 8000 block of Chariot Drive in East Dallas. Three other men are accused of participating in the scheme. In March 2019, Michael Atkinson pleaded guilty to conspiracy and kidnapping charges in connection with this case. In December 2019, Daryl Henry and Pablo Ceniceros-Deleon pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime and other charges. Sentencing for these three defendants is set for June 23.
Prosecutors say it was Jenkins who would meet the men at their cars and invite them inside, according to an indictment that was unsealed in January.
During the first two weeks of December 2017, Jenkins and Atkinson pointed guns at some of the men and beat them. At least one man was sexually assaulted with an object, according to the indictment.
In another instance, one man was urinated on and feces were wiped on him, according to the indictment.
The men were robbed of their wallets, cars, cellphones, identification and other personal documents, the indictment says.
On Dec. 7, one victim was forced at gunpoint to drive to an ATM. On Dec. 11, according to the indictment, Atkinson went to one of the victims’ homes to steal property.
“The Department of Justice and the Civil Rights Division are committed to confronting the scourge of hate-based violence gripping communities across our nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in a press release. “We denounce hate-based violence in all of its forms, including violence targeting individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
