Columbus man sentenced to prison for stalking, ‘sexploiting’ gay men via dating apps

A local man will serve more than four years behind bars for cyberstalking, extorting and stealing the identities of gay and bisexual men.

On Dec. 17, 29 year-old Omoruyi Uwadiae was sentenced to 51 months (four years and three months) in federal prison.

According to court documents, Uwadiae obtained sexually explicit photos from young, gay men he met on dating sites.

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He then “sexploited” the victims—threatening to send the photos to friends, family members, coworkers and more—in exchange for money or sex from the individuals.

Uwadiae followed through with his threats on multiple occasions, sending photos to victims’ friends, coworkers and even their mother. In one instance.

According to court records, he met another victim, a student at Ohio State, on Grindr. When the individual refused to send Uwadiae $200, he created fake social media accounts of the victim, using real photos and publicly “outing” him. “This guy is gay, see pics for evidence,” he posted alongside the photos. The victim was bisexual, and had not told his family because he was concerned they would react negatively.

He targeted men in Ohio, Colorado and Washington state.

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