Teen turns herself in after robbery of man who thought he was going on a date

A 16-year-old girl turned herself in on Wednesday after a man was beaten, bound, robbed and then left tied-up in his vehicle after organizing a date online last month.

The teen is the sixth suspect in the incident, which happened on Dec. 20, 2017.

The victim went to a house on Maryland Street just after midnight and was welcomed in by two females, police said. Once he got inside, they demanded money from him, which he disputed because he thought it was a consensual encounter.

Then three males emerged from within the house and also demanded money. When the victim said no, he was attacked. He broke a window in an effort to escape, but the attack continued and he was struck several times in the upper body with a metal object.

The attackers bound him and forced him into the backseat of his vehicle before driving to his house and stealing more than $1,000 worth of cash and goods.

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Then they drove him to another location and left the vehicle there with the victim inside.

"Somehow he was able to at least open the car door to exit the vehicle," said Const. Tammy Skrabek.

"My understanding is it wasn't long. The suspects had left and he had almost immediately attempted to get out of the vehicle and get some help."

The man went for help and police were able to arrest five people back at the house on Maryland Street.

"I didn't say that all criminals are geniuses," Skrabek said, addingit's not yet clear how all the suspects know each other.

Those peoplea 33-year-old woman anda 27-year-old man, in addition to a 17-year-old boy and two teen girls, 15 and 17 were all charged with a handful of offences including aggravated assault, forcible confinement, kidnapping and robbery.

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A 20-year-old man was also arrested and released on a promise to appear in court.

None of the suspects had been arrested for something similar before, Skrabek said.

'Fact checking' essential before online dating: police

It's not the first case of robbery or assault resulting from would-be romanticmeet-ups organized online in Winnipeg. In August 2017, oneman waspepper-sprayed and carjackedby four teenagers after a planned dateand another was assaulted by several people in a home on Tyndall Avenue.

Skrabekwouldn't say what dating app was used in the Dec. 20 case,but she said safe online dating means doing your due diligence beforehand.

"It's checking. It's checking your facts before you go. You meet somebody, where do they want to meet?" she said. "The internet can be a horrible thing or the internet can be a great thing."

Before going on a date with someone you met online, she recommended looking into the location they suggest.

"Easy enough to Google the news []and say, 'Hey, let's not go to that location,'" she said.

"It's really fact checking, it's who do you know, who knows where you are and how comfortable are you. And it's trusting your instincts. If you're feeling unsafe and insecure about something, don't go through with it."