A group of Melbourne teenagers allegedly bashed, robbed and sexually assaulted unsuspecting men after using dating apps to lure them to meetings, police say.The five males – aged between 16 and 18 – were arrested last week after 11 incidents were reported to Victoria police.The teens, all from the Greater Dandenong area in Melbourne’s outer south-east, face an array of charges including armed robbery and intentionally cause injury.Three were charged with sexual assault offences, while one was charged with kidnapping, police said.Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailSpeaking more broadly, Victoria police said they have been investigating 113 “concerning attacks” on men, involving dating apps, across the state since January 2024.To date, 47 people have been arrested.“Police allege groups of offenders have been posing as legitimate users of the platforms to lure men into meeting them,” police said in a statement.“The victims are then allegedly assaulted, robbed, threatened, and subjected to homophobic comments.”Acting Insp Jarrod Dwyer described the behaviour as concerning.“There is no place for it in our society and it will not be tolerated by police,” he said.“This would have no doubt been a distressing situation for the victims involved – and these arrests show just how serious we are in holding offenders to account.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“Everyone has a right to go about their lives, meet new people and start a relationship in safety.”Police said they were working with “selected dating apps” as part of their investigations, including to publish proactive safety messaging on the platforms with reporting options and support services.But they also said people should report such incidents to police, not just to dating apps.“We take any report of the crime extremely seriously and urge anyone who has experienced this behaviour to come forward and make a report to police so we can investigate,” police said in a statement.“It is never too late to make a report – so when you’re ready, please speak to us. The more we know, the more we can do something about it and keep victims safe.”