Five teenagers suspected of having ambushed men phished on a dating site in order to rob them have been indicted, we learned Thursday from the Besançon prosecutor.
Two brothers, aged 16 and 17, identified by the police as the leaders of the group, were placed in pre-trial detention, prosecutor Étienne Manteaux told AFP. Two other young men, aged 16 and 18, and a 15-year-old girl were placed under judicial supervision.
They all admitted to having participated to varying degrees in organized gang extortion committed via the “Sugar Daddy” site, which seeks to “foster relationships between a person who is financially successful with a less fortunate person,” according to the description of the site, notes the prosecutor.
In total, the investigation by the Besançon Local Judicial Police Service (SLPJ) made it possible to find five men, aged 42 to 56, victims of similar acts.
The investigations began at the end of September with the filing of a complaint by a 42-year-old man. He explained that he had met a young woman on the site and arranged a paid sexual relationship with her.
But on the day of the meeting, he was greeted at the meeting place, in the Planoise district of Besançon, by a young man who took him down into a cellar by placing a knife under his throat. Two accomplices joined them, “armed with a chopper and a large knife”, according to the prosecutor.
Hit and threatened, the man handed over 200 euros to his attackers, as well as his mobile phone, his bank card and his codes.
He was released during the day after being threatened with reprisals if he spoke out. He managed to note the registration number of one of his attackers, thus allowing the police to trace them. In this group, a 15-year-old girl, girlfriend of the main order giver, posted videos on “Sugar Daddy” and interacted with potential victims to attract them.
Investigators found two knives and a telescopic baton in the cellar, according to the magistrate.
