‘Tinder rapist’ photographer in France gets 18-year jail term for sexually assaulting multiple women
- Salim Berrada invited women he met online to modelling photo shoots and assaulted them during the encounters, most after spiking their drink
- Berrada also followed a list of pickup lines he had in an Excel spreadsheet, reaching out to potential victims ‘en masse’
A French court on Friday jailed a man for 18 years for raping and sexually assaulting several women he had lured on dating apps and social media to take their picture.
Salim Berrada, a 38-year-old former photographer from Morocco, was found guilty of 12 rapes and three sexual assaults and will be obliged to leave France in the “Tinder rapist” case, named after the popular dating app.
He was charged with raping or sexually assaulting 17 women, but he was acquitted of rape for two alleged victims because of a lack of evidence and the benefit of the doubt.
Berrada remained emotionless as the verdict was read out while his victims were heard breathing sighs of relief as the presiding judge read out their names one by one.
When the hearing was declared over, several of the women stood up to applaud, shout “thank you” and hug each other after the two-week trial.
Prosecutors had requested 19 years’ jail for Berrada, saying he invited women he met online in 2015 and 2016 to modelling photo shoots and assaulted them during the encounters, most after spiking their drink.