Man who used fake Tinder profile to lure men to ex's home jailed for eight years

Asad Hussain, also known as Ash Hussain, from Cheadle in Greater Manchester, was sentenced to eight years in prison at Chester Crown Court on Monday. He was also given a 15-year restraining order. He had previously been found guilty of stalking involving serious alarm or distress and assault by beating.

The court heard that the victim had been on a few dates with Hussain, who called himself "Mick Renney" in April 2024, before ending the relationship at the start of May when she woke to find he had been through her phone. He made multiple attempts to rekindle the relationship, which she refused.

In late July, several men began arriving at her house, claiming they had matched with her on Tinder and believed she had invited them over. One night in August, four different men came, all having received nearly identical messages. Some men told her the messages described a "rape fantasy" and said she wanted to be "roughed up." They were led to believe that if she said "no," it meant she "wanted it more."

In September, as she answered the door, a man shoved it, breaking a glass panel. He showed her messages from the fake Tinder account telling him the front door was open and he should "shove" it as it was "stiff." Later that day, while she was at work, another man entered the house while her teenage daughter was upstairs alone, but left without incident.

In statements to police, the men described matching with the woman on Tinder and being quickly invited over, receiving her address and phone number. At least 18 men are believed to have been deceived into going to her house, though the true number remains unknown.

In a victim statement, she said the sentence would "bring me some peace over the coming months," but added: "No sentence takes away the enormous impact his behaviour has had on both myself and my daughters. No person has the right to make me feel unsafe in my own home just because I no longer want to date them. No should mean no. Now I am left wondering how many men have my address and believe I want to be sexually assaulted, or worse."

The investigating officer, PC Keith Terrill, said the stalking case was "one of the most technically complex and disturbing" Cheshire Constabulary had ever investigated. "Asad Hussain is an exceptionally controlling and deceitful individual who went to extreme lengths to cause fear and distress to the victim and her children," he said. "The impact on the victim and her family has been devastating. I hope that today's sentence brings them some closure and allows them to begin rebuilding their lives."