Rapist Jailed After Hookup App Crime Spree Targeting “Bears”

In Kent, Washington, a man has been charged after a days-long crime spree in which he targeted men he met off gay dating apps, GROWLr and SCRUFF.

Leverne Lee Maxwell, 32, is accused of seven felony charges, including raping one of his victims at gunpoint. That particular incident took place April 7 after Maxwell met his victim through the GROWLr website and mobile phone app.

Seattle PI reports:

Having met through the site, Maxwell posed as a buyer for a Kindle eBook the man was trying to sell, the detective told the court. Once inside the man’s home, he asked for a glass of water and again became very aggressive.

“You’re a little (anti-gay slur) aren’t you,” Maxwell told the man, according to charging papers.

“You’re gonna suck my (expletive),” he continued.

Maxwell then pulled a pistol and threatened to kill the man before sexually assaulting him.

Four days later, Maxwell robbed a second man that he met off GROWLr at gunpoint in South Seattle, taking his laptop and iPhone. Then on April 13, Maxwell stole another man’s iPhone after meeting him through SCRUFF.

According to charging papers, Maxwell used a phone belonging to the mother of his two-year-old child to contact his victims. Investigators were able to link Maxwell to the rape through a used condom and fingerprints, as well as a handgun recovered from his apartment. They also claim to have video of him selling a stolen phone in Kent and several men have identified him as their attacker.

Maxwell, an 11-time felon, was arrested April 19 and charged with first degree rape, three counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of unlawful gun possession and one count of first-degree burglary. He denied the rape, claiming they had consensual sex, and also denied robbing anyone or using a gun to do so.

Maxwell remains jailed on a $750,000 bail and is expected to appear in court May 6.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons