Three men from Quebec have been arrested on sexual assault charges in connection with allegations they date-raped women they met through popular dating apps.
Police say investigators have identified three victims in the case and believe there may be others who have yet to contact them.
According to police in Gatineau, Que., Michel Giroux, Simon Lavoie and Hasan Demirovic have all been charged with sexual assault and overcoming resistance by administering a substance. Giroux has also been charged with non-consensual distribution of intimate images.
“The plan really seemed to start with Mr. Giroux,” Const. Andree East told CTV Ottawa.
“He was the one who was making the first contact.”
Police allege that Giroux signed up for accounts on dating apps Tinder and Bumble using his real name and photo, then invited women he connected with to either his home or a friend’s place.
All three women told police they arrived at the agreed-upon location to find Giroux and a man he introduced as a friend of his. The women were offered alcoholic drinks. They told police that they soon felt “disinhibited and paralyzed” to a degree beyond the expected effects of the alcohol.
Giroux and his friend then allegedly committed sexual acts on the women without their consent.
Police believe the men may have incapacitated the women by spiking their drinks with gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), also known as liquid ecstasy or the date-rape drug.
All three attacks are alleged to have happened in 2018, on women in their 20s.
Giroux, Lavoie and Demirovic appeared in court Wednesday and were released on bail, with conditions including not communicating with each other and not using any dating apps. Their case returns to court in April.
