A London gay man, accused in September of duping four straight men into having oral and anal sex by posing as a woman on Tinder and other dating apps, was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison.
Duarte Xavier, 33, was found guilty of six charges of causing a person to engage in sex without consent, Evening Standard reports.
Xavier allegedly engaged the men on the apps with photos of a “good-looking” female. Using a “feminine” voice, he then arranged sexual liaisons at his flat or a park if the men promised to wear a blindfold throughout their encounter.
“By pretending that you were an attractive and sexually adventurous young woman, you tempted them into engaging in sex with you,” said Vice-Judge Advocate General Michael Hunter in court during sentencing.
“I have taken into account your deliberate and cruel tactics that you carefully used to subject your victims to this activity. You have demonstrated no remorse or understanding of the position of your victims.”
Xavier, who had been previously arrested twice but released pending inquiries, was finally charged after his third arrest. He committed two of his offenses while out on bail.
The judge told the police officer in the case, “I hope the fact that these victims were heterosexual males did not cause them to be put rather lower in the list of priorities.”
The court heard a statement from one victim who claimed he suffers from “extreme stress, anxiety, panic attacks, and depression” after being used for Xavier’s “own sick fantasy.” He added, “I feel I’m carrying around a dark secret that will always be part of me. I hope one day I can learn to trust people again.”
As previously reported, one man discovered Xavier’s true identity when he lifted his blindfold while receiving oral sex. “I saw this man with a beard,” he told the court.
This victim, who reported the incident to police, said he was “pissed off” upon learning his date wasn’t a woman. “My reaction was I slapped this man in his face once or twice and I said ’why didn’t you tell me the truth?’”
The duped man told jurors he had matched on a dating app with a woman named Anna who wrote, “Be my obedient toy.” He then went to Xavier’s flat, where he was told to put on a blindfold before his host emerged. Xavier reportedly continued to pester the angry man for a second encounter, messaging him with sad-face emojis.
A second man alleges he also received oral sex from Xavier, while two others claim they had anal sex with the accused, believing it was vaginal intercourse. One of the men allegedly duped into having anal sex with Xavier in a public park admitted the blindfolded encounter began with oral sex that he found “quite pleasant.”
“It was different,” he said, adding that he had no reason to believe it was “anything else” but sex with a woman. “I have not experienced anything like that before.”
Metropolitan Police officials have asked any other potential victims to make contact.
