Conman jailed after using Grindr to pick up victims

A North Devon man was jailed today after a two-year spree of conning victims on Grindr.

Nicholas Rowell stole thousands of pounds worth of property from Grindr contacts in Plymouth, Fleetwood, Lancashire, Skipton, Yorkshire and Nottingham, each time using the name, passport and identity of a previous victim.

Rowell (50), of no fixed address, was jailed for five years and four months for a string of thefts.

This included £900 from a pub till in Padstow, £11,000 worth of property from a surf lodge in Croye, and a £20,000 Volkswagen Tiguan vehicle, which he was finally caught in (after stealing the keys whilst the owners were in church).

Several of Rowell’s victims offered him lodging and employment, allowing him to drift from job to job under fake identities and a fictitious CV.

The prosecution, Tom Bradnock, said Rowell had sometimes gained the confidence of victims by telling them he had separated from his wife, or had money problems because his daughter was sick or mother had died.

Rowell started his crime spree in March 2014, just weeks after being released early from a five year sentence for a previous conviction.

He had targeted members of the gay community in Brighton and Sussex, under the online name ‘Slick Nick.’

grindr_logo-100413748-primary.idge

Reported in The North Devon Journal, Judge Graham Cottle told Rowell at Exeter Crown Court: “This was a spree of dishonesty carried out on a country wide basis. You routinely used false information about yourself and false documents acquired from previous victims.

“You are clearly a thoroughly glib individual who was able to win the trust of people quite easily. They then became your victims. One was very vulnerable and all were taken in by your glib personality.

“You stole from them and then moved on to find your next victim. You have a bad criminal record and have chosen to live your life by dishonest means.”

Words: Andrew Headspeath

In This Article: