A man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting four men after luring them to his apartment while posing online as a white man under a fake name, police said Saturday.
Detectives from the Escondido Police Department, assisted by a SWAT team, served a search warrant Friday and arrested Tobias T. Bartee, 28, at his residence.
Bartee was arrested on multiple charges, including kidnap with intent to commit rape, sodomy by force, oral copulation by force, assault with intent to commit rape and strangulation. He is being held at the Vista Detention Facility.
Over the past four months, police received reports of four men who chatted with another male via the via the Grindr dating app, then agreed to meet at his apartment in the city, according to Escondido police.
When the men arrived at the residence, the man who answered the door was not the same person from the Grindr profile. He told the victims that the man they were there to meet was his roommate, but was not home.
Police said the victims were then forcibly restrained and sexually assaulted. Two of the victims allegedly witnessed the suspect with a handgun.
Investigators urged anyone who may have been a victim to contact Detective Jesse Santaniello at 760-839-4768.
– City News Service