THE DANGER OF APPS LIKE GRINDR.

Tony Diver 15.7.19 The Telegraph.

A man who sold chemsex drugs to serial killer Stephen Port has been found guilty of killing a former Bond actor with an overdose.
Gerald Matovu, 26, a drug dealer, met Eric Michels, 54, via Grindr in August last year.
He plied him with a fatal dose of GHB at Mr Michels’ home in Chessington, south-east London, then made off with his bank card details and other belongings.
Mr Michels, who had an uncredited role as a cocktail party guest in Skyfall, was one of 12 men targeted by Matovu and his lover Brandon Dunbar, 24, over a 19-month period, jurors heard.
Following an Old Bailey trial, Matovu was found guilty of businessman Mr Michels’ murder and a string of other offences.

Stephen Port was convicted of raping and killing four young men, and jailed for life. CREDIT: METROPOLITAN POLICE

Jurors were not told about Matovu’s past connection with former chef Port, 44, from Barking, who had also targeted victims through Grindr and killed them with GHB overdoses.
Port was handed a whole life term for raping and murdering four young men and dumping their bodies near his home in Barking, east London, between 2014 and 2015.
Following Port’s 2016 trial, Matovu pleaded guilty to supplying mephedrone and GHB and offering to supply GHB, but denied knowing what Port planned to do with it.

In April 2017, Matovu was sentenced to 12 months’ community service, 150 hours of unpaid work and 40 days of drug rehabilitation.
At Matovu’s murder trial, prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC told how the defendants took advantage of meeting men on Grindr to steal property and bank details.

Watch: Murderer Matovu filmed meeting and shopping with Eric Michels

On the evening of August 16 last year, divorced father-of-three Mr Michels made contact with Matovu on Grindr after a night out in Soho gay bars.
Mr Michels invited him to his home for sex, the court heard.
He picked Matovu up from a homeless hostel and stopped off at a Sainsbury’s, where CCTV images show the pair together.
Back at Mr Michels’ home, the defendant drugged him and took photographs of his bank cards and driver’s licence.
Matovu made off with a MacBook, a mobile phone, an initialled black case, US driving licence and various cards as well as a suitcase full of bottles of alcohol.
Mr Michels’ body was discovered by his concerned family the following day in bed under a duvet.

Eric Michels, 52, appeared in films in his spare time.

An empty 3ml syringe without a needle attached was found on the floor beside the bed.
DNA from the victim and defendant was identified on it, as well as traces of GHB, the court heard.

Matovu denied murder but accepted going home with Mr Michels’ to have consensual sex.
He denied administering GHB to Mr Michels, claiming he took it of his own free will.
A jury deliberated for 26 hours to reach guilty verdicts on all the charges against both defendants.
Members of the victim’s family in court shouted out “yes – the rest of your life in prison” as Matovu looked on impassive.
Speaking to BBC News, Mr Michels’ son Sam Michels said: “I’ll never meet anyone like him ever again in my life. Losing him has been like losing a limb.”
His other son Josh said: “The devastation it causes is unbelievable. Especially when he had so much to live for. He was only 54.”
Matovu and Dunbar were convicted of a string of charges including administering a noxious substance, assault by penetration and theft.

PAT SAYS

I learned recently of a priest on Grindr who was enticed to meet a man in Belfast for sado masochism sex in a house in Belfast was badly beaten by the stranger and dumped in an alleyway.

Fortunately someone found him and got an ambulance.

He says that Grindr is rampant with fakes and dangerous people.

I also know of a married Protestant minister who was blackmailed by a twink he met in Grindr.