A Dating-App Nightmare

"Valentin would then offer just one more drink and drug his dates senseless, officials familiar with a widening investigation into his behavior claim. As the women drifted into oblivion, they have alleged to cops, he would help them into his car with an offer to grab a nightcap, then film himself raping them. He left little trace: His victims rarely had any recollection of what had happened, officials claim."

"Last April, one of Valentin's alleged victims awoke with the conviction that something was wrong, according to court documents. The night before felt blurred and disorienting. She had left the bar with Valentin and recalled getting in his car-the place that officials claim was the locus of his crimes. Believing that she had been violated, she went to Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department."

"There she learned that Valentin was no FBI agent. He was a former decorated officer of the very department now tasked with investigating him. In December, authorities in Alexandria, Virginia, arrested Valentin on charges including rape, sodomy, and altering food or beverages."

Timothy Valentin, a former decorated officer with the Metropolitan Police Department, used dating apps including Hinge, Plenty of Fish, Bumble, and Match.com to meet women. He presented himself as an FBI agent and cultivated a trustworthy appearance by meeting in public places and buying drinks. He would then drug his dates with substances that rendered them unconscious, transport them to his car, and sexually assault them while filming the crimes. His victims typically had no memory of the assaults, believing they had simply overindulged. In April, one victim reported suspicions to police, leading to the discovery of Valentin's true identity and criminal activity. He was arrested in December on charges including rape, sodomy, and altering food or beverages. Investigators uncovered extensive evidence suggesting similar crimes across the mid-Atlantic region.

Read at The Atlantic