NYPD Looking For Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting 10-Year-Old Girl After Meeting Her On Bumble

While there is no secure way to really verify a user’s age, the app’s core audience is not intended for minors.

A man is on the run after being accused of raping a 10-year-old girl in East Harlem, New York, PIX 11 reported.

Police say the unidentified man allegedly met the victim on the dating app, Bumble, before meeting in person. Shortly after their encounter on Jan. 6, the man took the girl to an apartment close by where the rape allegedly happened. The suspect fled the scene, but the victim was cared for by EMS and taken to a nearby hospital.

Unlike other dating apps, Bumble requires women users to make the first move in opposite sex connections. While there is no secure way to really verify a user’s age, the app is not intended for minors. According to the website, “to become a member of Bumble, you’ll need to be 18 years of age or older;” it hasn’t been revealed if the minor was using an adult’s account or created one herself.

However, residents feel like incidents like this should prompt more community involvement to keep an eye on kids. “Everybody got to be more aware. Honestly, I feel like the community gotta be more aware, too. There’s no way – a 10-year-old got taken,” one resident said.

“I do want to tell her, just because of the circumstances, it doesn’t make you – I know that it’s not supposed to happen. But you can move forward. It’s not your fault, and I just want ya’ll to give her love and let her know she’s important.”

Studies have shown that predators use dating apps as a way to prey on new victims. Dr. Julie Valentine of Brigham Young University and her research team performed a study – the first of its kind – on the relationship between dating apps and sexual assaults. After analyzing medical exam charts of sexual assault victims between 2017-2020, according to WPDE, out of close to 2,000 rapes committed, 14% were by acquaintances during a first-time meeting through a dating app. “What we found is incredibly concerning,” Valentine said. “We found that these rapes were much more violent. A third of the victims were strangled.”

Male victims were nearly twice as common with app-related assaults.

A spokesperson from Bumble said the company is aware of what happened in Harlem and claims to “take these claims very seriously” but did not provide any additional comment.