Dating app conman convicted of violent and sexual crimes

Christopher Harkins, 37, was found guilty of violent and serious sexual offences, including rape, by a jury at Paisley High Court on Monday.

The crimes took place between 2013 and 2019 and involved nine women across Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Paisley, Inverclyde, Edinburgh, Stirling and West Lothian. 

The 37-year-old would meet women through online dating apps, and once he developed relationships with them he used violent means to manipulate, threaten and control his victims.

He also used them to obtain money to fund his extravagant lifestyle. 

The court heard the fraudster swindled £214,000 from former partners, falsely used some of his victims' names to receive payday loans and convinced one woman to take finance out on a sofa.

Gambling addict Harkins made one of the women create an online betting account in her name and used cash from her bank to place bets.

Harkins told victims that his bank account was frozen and required funds to pay clients and those working for him.

He also pretended to book holidays and received money from some of the women for their half.

The amounts taken by Harkins ranged between £350 and £72,525.

Harkins also raped one of his fraud victims while she was asleep.

He was jailed last year for 15 months for defrauding a financial professional he met online out of £16,000, and he had previously pleaded guilty to financial abuse offences in January 2024. 

At court, Judge Alistair Watson said: "This was an appalling catalogue of financial, physical and occasional sexual abuse of your victims.

"You repeatedly portrayed yourself as a successful person when in fact you are not.

"You contacted young women of varying degrees of vulnerability and exploited those.

"You did this over a number of years moving from victim to victim ruining lives as you went along.

"The harm you caused to your victims in this cannot be overstated."

Harkins shook his head after the verdict was announced and was warned by the judge for slouching in the dock when a narrative of the facts was read out.

Harkins stated to the jury when leaving the dock for the cells: "I accept my mistakes but I have not raped anyone."

The trial heard from a 31-year-old woman who met Harkins on the Tinder dating app in August 2018.

Harkins claimed to her that he was an IT manager who also ran a wholesale currency exchange business.

He stated he needed money to pay people working for him as his bank account was "frozen."

He also stated that he needed money to pay for furniture and claimed he would split the money for a booked holiday with her to Cape Verde.

However, Harkins kept the £9,033 he took from the woman for himself.

She stated she caught Harkins trying to have sex with her when she was asleep at his home in Cumbernauld.

Harkins later became involved in a relationship with another woman he had met on Tinder previously.

He told her that he was a financially successful IT employee and made out that he was leading a "lavish lifestyle."

Harkins convinced the woman to set up an online Betfair account in her name as he claimed his was suspended.

Prosecutor Scott McKenzie said: "He spent money from her bank account in her name to allow him to place bets."

He also asked the woman to use her overdrafts facilities to apply for loans in both her name and to act as a guarantor.

Harkins further asked for her share to pay a money for a luxurious weekend holiday to Loch Lomond.

He stated that he would pay the money back to her which included claims that he was due £10,000 from a gambling debt.

Harkins also used excuses such as his bank account being frozen for 28 working days rather than 28 calendar days for the delays in repayment.

Harkins took a total of £75,525 from her between December 2018 and April 2019.

Harkins also received a further £75,300 from another woman whom he met on Facebook in 2019 when he claimed he was an engineer with a currency exchange business.

He claimed his bank account was "frozen" and asked the woman to loan him money which she did in various amounts as she felt "pressured."

Harkins stated that some of the cash was to pay back a group of friends and that he would repay it.

Harkins made out that he had a job offer in Southampton and required cash to pay for the course.

He then sent his victim a screenshot of an apparent offer and the woman sent £2,400 from her credit card.

Harkins became abusive towards her when she asked for the money back and was further enraged when she told his mother.

Harkins took £20,000 from another woman after he provided false information to a loan company in her name.

He told another partner he met on Tinder that he booked a holiday to Greece and required her share.

Another victim gave Harkins £25,000 which he claimed was to fund connections for his employment and business which has not been paid back.

Harkins initially bought her flowers and gifts and took her on a holiday to London which he paid for.

He set up a payday loan using her details when she was not present.

The woman was later convinced to hand over the money in cash in separate instalments.

Another woman handed over £1,576 for her share of a holiday to Jamaica which he had not booked.

Harkins' earliest victim stated that he added her on Facebook in 2012.

She claimed "extravagant" Harkins bought her champagne and "over the top" gifts but their relationship later "changed".

Harkins persuaded her to take out a loan for a sofa from DFS for the flat they moved into and to have spending money for a holiday which cost her £3,000.

He also took out a £1,000 loan in her name by providing false information.

The woman recalled days in the property where she went without heat and electricity.

She stated that Harkins made her "walk on eggshells" and was violent towards her during three separate incidents.

This included him grabbing her face and kicking her on the stomach after she was pushed out of the property in her pyjamas.

Another told the court that "manipulative and controlling" Harkins met her on Facebook in 2015.

She stated that he was violent towards her which included pinning her to a bed and put his hand around her neck to the point she was unable to breathe.

She said: "I thought this is it, this is awful, this is how I'm going to die."

The woman told jurors that she went to the police about Harkins in 2015 but was not taken seriously.

She claimed that one of the officers compared the choking incident to a "square go."

A fourth woman who gave evidence at trial also met Harkins online.

Harkins recorded himself performing a sex act on the woman and sent it to her for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification or of humiliating, distressing or alarming her.

Harkins admitted taking £1,300 from her after claiming he had booked a holiday and a mobile phone for her and required cash as he was locked out of his account.

Sentencing was deferred pending background reports until July 3 at the High Court in Kilmarnock.

Harkins had his remand in custody continued in the meantime.

His conviction comes after a proactive investigation by Police Scotland's Domestic Abuse Taskforce which began in October 2019.

Detective Inspector Iain Renfrew slammed Harkins and praised the victims for their bravery in sharing their testimony in the trial.

He said: “Christopher Harkins is a violent and contemptible individual who preyed on woman looking for love and companionship.

"He made them believe they were in a loving and exclusive relationship but that was nowhere near the truth.

“His only motive was money. Harkins met the woman through a dating app and once he had formed relationships with them he turned to manipulation, threats, coercive control and violence to obtain thousands of pounds which he used to fund his very lavish lifestyle.

“The fact that he had been convicted is a tremendous credit to the women who came forward to police. Their testimony is why he has been convicted today.

“This case highlights that domestic abuse is not just physical or sexual, it includes abusive behaviours or financial abuse. It is often about power and control and can have life-changing consequences for victims.

"We sincerely hope that today’s conviction gives confidence to others who may experience anything similar to come forward, safe in the knowledge that police will investigate.”