Palm Beach County authorities are asking women to come forward if they’ve had encounters with a Florida man who allegedly met victims through online dating platforms.
Five months following a sexual assault probe at a Florida medical facility, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office filed a request on July 14. The investigation revealed that the victim had met Stephen Hakim through the dating app, Hinge. Investigators ultimately connected Hakim’s DNA with evidence gathered from the victim, according to legal filings.
Testing revealed several sleep-inducing drugs in the woman’s system, though she insisted she hadn’t consumed them.
Hakim, based in Delray Beach, was detained on July 8 and accused of sexual assault. He was subsequently freed the following day after posting a $25,000 bond, and he has entered a plea of not guilty.
Stephen Hakim, 27, accused of attacking a woman he encountered on Hinge, hails from Delray Beach. (Courtesy of Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)
The woman recounted to deputies that after connecting with Hakim on Hinge, they chatted on the app for about an hour before shifting to texting and video calls, according to the reports.
The alleged victim and Hakim, 27, agreed to meet later that day without “any expectations or pretenses” for “a relaxed evening to talk,” deputies who reviewed the messages reported in court documents. The woman told deputies that Hakim picked up her up in his car around 11 p.m. to go to a bar, court records show. But instead, he drove her to his apartment.
She recalled riding in his black Tesla as he sped along at “90 to 100 miles per hour,” court documents show. She reported that his “very clean” apartment had very little furniture and no television or pets. The woman told deputies they drank four beers and discussed topics like work. Then, Hakim offered to give her a massage, the alleged victim told deputies. It was then that she became “super tired” and “couldn’t get up” before being assaulted, she told deputies. Afterward, she was “very upset” and told Hakim that he’d raped her, she told deputies. She reported that Hakim asked what she was talking about in “gaslighting” behavior, records show.
Hakim’s attorney provided a statement to multiple news outlets saying his client denies allegations that his actions were “unconsented.” The firm did not respond to a request for comment from News Media.
Experts say dating app users should watch for warning signs, including vague profiles and quick requests to move conversations off-platform. (Getty Images)
About 53 percent of adults ages 18 to 29 have used a dating app, a 2023 Pew Research report showed. Since the late 90’s, the online dating industry has “transformed” the way that some adults find potential matches, study researchers wrote. Dating apps aren’t inherently dangerous, said Megan Cutter, chief of victim services for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline.
Many relationships that begin on dating apps go on to be healthy and long lasting, she said. But perpetrators also use dating platforms to further criminal behavior, Cutter said.
Only about one in three victims report their sexual assault to law enforcement, she said.
Sometimes, that’s because abusers and perpetrators threaten to hurt victims and their families if they contact authorities, Cutter said.
One in 6 women in the United States has experienced attempted or completed rape in her lifetime, according to RAINN. Women ages 18 to 24 are at the most risk of being victims of sexual assault than any other age group. “We really want to think about how we stay safe on the internet” when using online dating services, Cutter said. Profiles that don’t have many details, links to social media, and aren’t “built out” should raise concern, she warned.
“Matches” who quickly want to exchange contact information and move conversations off the app also should spark wariness.
Palm Beach County authorities are seeking potential additional victims of Stephen Hakim, a Florida man charged with sexual assault. (Alicia Windzio/picture alliance via Getty Images; Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)
“Once they have your email or your phone number, they might use that to figure out where you live or find your social media.”
She warns users to post different photos on a dating profile than they would on personal social media. That’s because reverse image searches now quickly can link photos to other places they can be found online, such as on social media posts that could share personal information.
Removing the metadata from posted photos also decreases the risk of personal information being acquired, she said. Metadata is hidden information attached to digital files that can be accessed and may provide information, such as location and date. Online dating is “something millions of people use all the time,” Cutter said. “People find really lovely, healthy, successful relationships online. The risk is really when perpetrators misuse that tool and hurt people.”
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigators believe there “may be additional victims who have not yet come forward,” the agency wrote in a post on social media.
The Special Victims Unit is “asking for the public’s help in identifying anyone who may have had encounters with Stephen Hakim, who allegedly met victims through online dating platforms.”