Lawrenceville, Georgia.Authorities this week reported that a Florida man who used a dating app to entice victims before committing robbery, sexual assault, and kidnapping had pled guilty to several offenses in Gwinnett County and was given a life sentence with the chance of parole.
The 23-year-old Stevenson Charles pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery, two acts of aggravated assault, false detention, and aggravated sodomy. Scott Estes, the assistant district attorney for Gwinnett County, secured the plea, which concludes a case involving a violent incident that occurred in November 2022.
According to Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson, the defendant’s actions are completely out of control. We are happy that he received a life sentence and hope that the people he targeted receive justice.
Investigators claim that Charles used the dating app Scruff to connect with his first victim. He confronted the victim face-to-face on November 10, 2022, robbed him, and coerced him into performing a sexual act at gunpoint. Threatened, the victim brought Charles to his house, where he abducted the victim and his spouse. After stealing the couple’s wedding rings, Charles made them drive to stores to buy gift cards, which he subsequently took.
In 2023, Charles was found guilty in federal court of a string of robberies, kidnappings, and carjackings in Miami, where he targeted victims using Grindr, another dating app. In DeKalb County, he is also charged with armed robbery and murder for offenses that occurred during that time.
DA “Be careful not to allow yourself to become a victim by hooking up with strangers on dating apps,” Austin-Gatson said, advising the public to use caution when meeting strangers using dating apps.
Charles’ conviction in Gwinnett County highlights the risks associated with predatory crimes and adds to his history of violent offenses, many of which took place in November 2022.
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