Nine ladies complained about Tinder swindler Christopher Harkins earlier than his arrest

Nine ladies instructed totally different police about one among Scotland's most vicious and predatory romance fraudsters earlier than his arrest, the BBC has discovered.

Christopher Harkins was ultimately jailed for 12 years in July 2024 however ladies who tried to report him over the previous decade mentioned they felt “dismissed” once they contacted Police Scotland.

bbc revelations investigation revealed that between 2012 and 2019 Police Scotland acquired 9 studies from ladies who met Harkins via courting websites, together with Tinder.

The ladies mentioned they instructed police that Harkins recorded intimate images and movies with out their consent, abused and threatened them, and stole hundreds of kilos.

None of the studies on the time led to felony prices and his victims mentioned their authentic complaints have been dismissed as “civil matters”.

Police Scotland instructed the BBC that there have been no studies of bodily or sexual abuse on the time.

He mentioned they have been “mainly around the financial situation” and that every was stored in isolation.

The drive mentioned it had progressed in its understanding of abuse because the introduction of recent home abuse laws in 2019.

Harkins continued to commit crimes all through 2020.

He used courting websites corresponding to Tinder to focus on ladies, normally selecting profitable, career-driven ladies from round Glasgow and the Central Belt.

On his courting profile, the 38-year-old offered himself as a jet-setting, business-owning, “gym rat”, however in actuality he was one among Scotland's most prolific and predatory romance fraudsters.

Harkins' scams included pretending to e-book romantic holidays, asking for cash by claiming his checking account had been briefly frozen or telling ladies he was investing his financial savings for them.

In different instances he pressured ladies into giving him loans of as much as £12,000 and likewise used their identities to take out loans himself.

One lady was pressured to file chapter, whereas one other took years to repay the debt, leading to psychological well being issues.

Many ladies who went to the police have been ashamed to inform their ordeal to their household and mates.

One sufferer who tried to report Harkins in 2019 after she transferred £3,247 to e-book a vacation that didn’t exist mentioned she felt the ladies had been let down.

“The number of people who came forward, I think it's clear that there was opportunity for investigation,” mentioned the lady, who we're calling Lisa to guard her privateness.

“There must have been some way it could have been stopped before it happened.”

Dr Jane Glinski from Scottish Women's Aid mentioned early reporting of economic abuse provides authorities the chance to intervene earlier than the habits escalates to bodily or sexual abuse.

When Lisa initially went to a police station to ask for assist, she mentioned she was instructed: “There's not really much we can do if your boyfriend doesn't want to take you on holidays”.

“It was very dismissive,” she mentioned.

“They were a little unsure about how you would deal with it or how you would classify it.

“I was asked whether or not I had slept with him at the time, which I didn't think was relevant. I remember feeling really disappointed.”

Determined to expose Harkins, Lisa emailed journalist Catriona Stewart, who published an article in Glasgow's Evening Times newspaper.

It immediately became clear that Lisa was not the only woman Harkins had targeted.

“Within hours of the article going live, five women who had been in contact with Christopher Harkins called me,” Ms Stewart mentioned.

“It became clear to me very quickly that this man had been operating for at least a decade, that his alleged crimes were much more than financial. And this was an individual who was potentially very dangerous.”

After the newspaper article was revealed, police revisited historic studies.

Harkins was charged and stood trial on the High Court in Paisley in May 2024.

A lady, who we're calling Jane for authorized causes, met Harkins on-line in late 2018 earlier than pursuing a relationship with him.

He stole from her and recorded an intimate video with out consent and instructed he ship it to her mother and father.

While giving proof, Jane additionally described the incident when Harkins raped her.

“He was trying to have sex with me while I was sleeping,” Jane mentioned.

“The only memory I have was discomfort. I remember feeling pain. I remember feeling uncomfortable. I remember feeling confused. I tried to push her away.

“I keep in mind it was the time when he grabbed my neck.”

After a two-week trial, Harkins was convicted of 19 offences, including rape, assault, recording an intimate video without consent, threatening and abusive behaviour, and four other sexual offences.

He also admitted defrauding nine women, including Lisa and Jane, of more than £214,000.

The BBC is aware of an alleged fraud of more than £53,000 which has not been prosecuted and nine other alleged victims who were not involved in the trial.

DCI Lindsay Laird led the Police Scotland investigation into Harkins.

He said it was difficult to say why he was not investigated earlier.

“Each one was reported at totally different levels, in order that they weren't all reported without delay, they have been reported to totally different divisions throughout Police Scotland,” he said.

He added, “There was never any report of physical or sexual abuse made to the police at that time.

“It was mainly around the financial situation, when they are treated in isolation, they are taken up as civil enquiries.

“I think it's safe to say that there has been a massive evolution in policing since the initial reports came out.”

Asked whether Police Scotland would apologize to victims who tried to report Harkins in the years before his arrest, DCI Laird said: “I think that's a very difficult question to answer.

“I think based on the investigation so far they have got a successful court outcome.

“With everything we've done since then, I will say that I hope that experience will never be repeated.”

Harkins was first arrested and appeared in court in January 2020.

Despite his legal status he continued his scams and found a new target.

We are calling her Naomi to protect her identity.

Naomi was seeing Harkins in 2020 while the police were investigating him.

She alleged that he stole £550 from her and later pressured her to withdraw £10,000 that he had transferred to her bank account.

She was unaware of the allegations against her.

,[I had] No idea”, she mentioned.

“If I had achieved that, I wouldn't have been concerned. This wouldn't have occurred.”

After spending a night with Harkins, Naomi said he sent her a still image from a video he had taken while they were being intimate, leaving her feeling “fully humiliated”.

According to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, by June 2024, almost £95 million was lost to romance fraud in the UK, with the average loss per person being £10,774.

In July last year Harkins was sentenced to 12 years in prison and placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

Lisa, whose initial media interview led to the police investigation that led to Harkins' jailing, said she felt guilty for standing firm.

Months later she got her money back from Harkins, but most women do not.

Lisa said: “I was so relieved for all the people who stood up and told their stories that there has been a positive outcome.

“I think they are incredibly brave and I'm so glad they did it. The outcome is exactly what should have happened years ago.

“For the previous 5 years I’ve felt like I used to be unable to maneuver ahead. This is a narrative I now really feel happy with telling, relatively than ashamed of it.”

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Additional reporting by Katie McAvinney