Six young men have been convicted for luring, assaulting and robbing gay men in Grindr-organized ambushes in Sarreguemines. The sentences handed down go up to five years in prison.
A rendezvous fixed on Grindr, then victims encircled, beaten and stripped. Between July and the end of October 2025, at least seven men were trapped according to the same modus operandi in Sarreguemines, in Moselle (Grand Est). On Wednesday, July 22, the town’s correctional court convicted the six perpetrators of this series of ambushes to sentences up to five years in prison. While justice acknowledged the severity of the violence, theft and extortion, it did not, however, uphold the aggravating circumstance of homophobia, despite the exclusive targeting on a gay dating app and the homophobic insults reported by several victims during the assaults.
A familiar and well-honed modus operandi
The modus operandi of the assaults follows the classic pattern of homophobic ambushes. Lured on Grindr, the victims, upon arriving at the meeting point, are immediately encircled by several young men, faces hidden, who spring from their hiding places. Under the threat of a knife or a taser, they are forced to hand over their cash, unlock their mobile phones, or make transfers that can amount to several thousand euros. All personal effects are systematically stolen. Before leaving the scene, the attackers take care to photograph the victims’ identity papers as well as the license plates of their vehicles. A way to deter them from filing a complaint. The inquiry conducted by the gendarmes ultimately identified the members of the gang.
Repeat-offender adolescents convicted
The five main perpetrators, aged 20 to 23, quickly acknowledged their involvement during their custody. To try to justify their acts, they resorted to an explanation now common for justifying ambushes, claiming they wanted to “fight pedophilia” and denying any criminal or homophobic motivation. “It started as a joke”, some even contend in their defense. These explanations fail to convince as victims’ testimonies paint a picture of methodically prepared, homophobic and violent assaults.
One of the trapped men recalls: “They poured a liquid on my head. I thought they were going to set me on fire. I am still traumatized.” He also explains having been the target of homophobic insults during the assault. Another mentions the “30 days of total work stoppage” prescribed after “three broken ribs”. For him, there is no doubt that the perpetrators came on Grindr to choose their victims because of their sexual orientation: “We are easy prey” they lament.
At the stand, some of the defendants expressed regrets: “We shouldn’t have gotten involved in this”, declares one. Another speaks of an “engrenage” (a vicious circle). In his requisitions, the public prosecutor Aurélien Rubio recalled the gravity of the facts, describing “lip-service regrets” while all already possess entries on their criminal records and two appear in a state of recidivism. Described as “the most violent” of the group, and the only one in pre-trial detention since his custody, one of the captors received five years in prison, including three with suspension, with detention maintained. The other sentences range from 18 months in prison to partially suspended sentences.
Last week already, in a similar case of a Grindr-organized ambush in the Amboise Forest (Centre-Val de Loire), the justice system had likewise dismissed the aggravating circumstance of homophobia for an 18-year-old defendant tried in a fast-track hearing.
