Dating app turns to disaster for Dannhauser resident

Not everyone you meet online is as sincere as they first appear and sadly for a Dannhauser resident, she found that out the hard way.

Nadine (not her real name) was looking to make new friends and went on social networking app, Skout. While there, she met a man and the two began chatting and slowly got closer. Mr K, the man in question, was from Benoni but decided to visit Nadine in Dannhauser for a few days. Once he arrived, he decided to stay and the two began dating. He wowed her with stories about his life and even won over her gran and co-workers. He told Nadine that he found a job in Newcastle and used her car to travel daily. “One day he told me he got a job with Pastel and I was really happy, but then his stories didn’t add up anymore and we found out that he stole money from my gran. I still loved him so much, but I couldn’t keep someone like him in my family or in my life.”

Nadine plucked up the courage to end the relationship, though she was afraid he would hurt her. Before she could though, her ‘Prince Charming’ showed his true colours. “He told me that he needed to quit his job in Newcastle and I promised to take him. The next morning I went to work first before planning to take him. While I was walking home though, he sent me a message saying that he was leaving.

“I got to my house and all his things were gone, including my laptop. I phoned him and he told me that he’s going to spend the day in Newcastle and come back later.”

He didn’t return later though and Nadine began to panic. She phoned him 46 times that day but he stopped answering after the third call. That night he blocked her on WhatsApp and Facebook.

The following day police pinged his phone and the tablet he’d stolen and located him in Benoni. Nadine posted a photo of him and her car on every Facebook Classified page she could, praying that someone would spot either. It was an extremely traumatic time and she even endured nightmares, thinking that he would come back to hurt her. After days with no trace or word from him, she was on the verge of giving up when she received a call from a woman who had parked next to him in Benoni.

The cops were contacted and the man arrested. The following day Nadine and two detectives went to Benoni to fetch her car and pick him up. “We went to get my car and I noticed that he had removed the radio, the spare wheel, the jack and the tools and sold it with my laptop, and a camera that was in my car.

He was living in my car for the three weeks he was gone. My car smelt horrible and there were stains on the seats as well as empty cigarette boxes and KFC packets everywhere.”

Nadine luckily found a receipt for the camera under the passenger seat and went to the pawn shop to collect it but was unable to find out where he sold the other items. Nadine then got in touch with the lady who he claimed was his adopted sister. She turned out to be his ex-fiancé who told Nadine that he had done this to five other women, one just before he got involved with her.

He doesn’t have a house, a car or a job, and lived with his ex-fiancé until she broke off their engagement. Nadine also found out that his family doesn’t want anything to do with him, as he had also broken into his mother’s house last year and robbed her.

The man she thought was so perfect also was in prison previously for housebreaking. Nadine is hoping that through her horror experience, others will learn not to always trust everyone online based on face value.

“I went onto the app for conversation, not to meet someone, but unfortunately I was the next fly in his web of lies, stories and cons.”

Mr K pleaded guilty to the charges and is currently serving his three-month sentence in Dundee.