In 2018, while backpacking through New Zealand, Grace Millane met Jesse Kempson on Tinder the night before her 22nd birthday. The British tourist never reached that milestone.
When the murder and cover-up came to light, Kempson claimed to police he had accidentally killed Millane during a sex game. However, in 2020, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years.
A woman who went on a date with Kempson a day after the murder recalled a chilling moment when he told a story about a friend who killed his girlfriend during sex. "He might have been testing the story out on me," she said.
The woman left the date after experiencing an unsettling feeling about Kempson, fearing she might become his next victim.
"I think the invention of dating apps is a wonderful thing. I don't want to live in a world without them," she said, "but I wish women didn't have to worry about their safety all the time."
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Jesse Kempson appears in court in 2020 for the murder of Grace Millane and the sexual assault of two other victims. Photo: RNZ |
Jesse Kempson appears in court in 2020 for the murder of Grace Millane and the sexual assault of two other victims. Photo: RNZ
Concerns are rising due to the lack of safeguards for women using dating apps in the UK. While services in the US allow users to pay for background checks, no such option exists in the UK. There are increasing calls for apps to work more closely with police to ensure user safety.
David Jones, director of Reveal Private Investigations, explained, "Predators exploit the minimal signup requirements on dating apps. When all you need is an email address or phone number, you have the perfect environment for disposable accounts. Predators can set up multiple profiles within minutes, vanish when suspected, and reappear under a new alias. This cycle makes it nearly impossible for victims, or even the platforms themselves, to track repeat offenders."
Take the case of Stephen Matthews, an American cardiologist who used the Hinge app to drug, assault, and rape multiple women, despite victims repeatedly reporting him on the app.
In October 2024, Matthews was sentenced to 158 years in prison.
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Cardiologist Stephen Matthews used Hinge to connect with victims, drug them, and then rape them. |
The Dating App Report Project recently conducted an investigation to determine how easily abusers could create new accounts. The project created several accounts on the popular platform Tinder. They then reported these profiles for sexual assault to have them blocked by the app.
However, the investigation revealed these blocked users could easily create new accounts with the same name, birth date, and profile pictures. Without changing any details, they could also register on Hinge, OKCupid, and Plenty of Fish.
A spokesperson for Match Group, the company behind Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, and Match.com, stated, "Any report of harmful or violent behavior is deeply concerning and has no place on our platforms or anywhere. When we identify a related account on any of our platforms, we ban that account across all Match Group apps."
Match Group pledges to continuously strengthen safety efforts, invest in technology, and collaborate closely with regulatory agencies and safety experts to protect the global dating app community.
Tue Anh (according to The Sun)
