A 19-year-old man from Victoria has admitted to the police that he was motivated by vigilante-style videos he saw on TikTok to meet and assault two individuals he had connected with on the gay dating app, Grindr. Christian Keryakus has pleaded guilty to charges including aggravated burglary, common assault, and reckless injury following the attacks on two men in June. Keryakus asserted he was inspired by TikTok’s and YouTube’s content creator known for posting videos enticing men via Grindr before assaulting them, sometimes involving others.
According to a county court judgment, Keryakus engaged in sexual conversation with the first victim on Grindr before switching to Snapchat, where he obtained the victim’s location. He then visited the victim’s house with three others, falsely accusing him of being a “paedo” and demanding money. They stole the victim’s Nintendo Switch and wallet. The same night, Keryakus met the second victim, luring him to a field in Craigieburn, where the victim was confronted and assaulted by multiple individuals while Keryakus recorded the incident.
Snapchat use allowed Keryakus to trace a victim’s location and plan the assaults. He was inspired by TikTok and YouTube influencer Vitaly, who is known for prank and vigilantism streams.
Judge Sarah Dawes found that Keryakus believed he was justified in taking the law into his own hands, considering himself superior to his victims and seeking to ‘dispense justice’ in this way. The judge linked his actions to a Russian-US influencer, Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, who has a massive following across TikTok and YouTube, raising concerns over the potential repercussions of such content.
Due to remorse and acknowledgment of his wrongful actions, Keryakus was sentenced to a two-and-a-half-year community corrections order that includes 250 hours of community work. The case illuminates a series of vigilante attacks related to dating apps in the US and the Philippines, highlighting the global reach of such violence inspired by social media influencers.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/03/christian-keryakus-grindr-attacks-tiktok-vigilante-videos-ntwnfb
