WASHINGTON: Man Accused Of Gay Rape After Growlr App Crime Spree

A Washington state man has been arrested and charged with rape after victimizing several gay men he met on the Growlr dating app.

Accused in a gunpoint rape, Leverne Lee Maxwell is currently jailed on seven felony charges related to the purported crime spree. The most serious allegations center on the April 7 sexual assault, which Maxwell is alleged to have perpetrated against a man he contacted through the GROWLr website and mobile phone app. According to charging papers, Maxwell, 32, met and robbed several men via the site, which is frequented by strapping, hairy gay men often called “bears.” He is alleged to have raped one of the men in Seattle after holding him at gunpoint.

Gay Star News has more.

The charging papers further allege he used a phone belonging to the mother of his two-year-old child to contact the men. Maxwell, an 11-time felon, denies raping the men, robbing them or using a gun but maintains they had consensual sex. He is accused of first-degree rape, three counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of unlawful gun possession and one count of first-degree burglary. He remains jailed on $750,000 bail. He is expected to appear on 6 May at King County Superior Court at Seattle.