TINDER RAPIST STOLE MY FACE

Dating app beast used Gary's web profile picture to target his victims

- BY JENNIFER HYLAND

A DAD has told of his horror at discovering his identity was stolen by a dating app rapist to target 17 women.

Gary Stephenson was contacted by scores of victims after serial fraudster Ryan McVeigh used his photographs and name to carry out sexual, financial and emotional abuse which destroyed the lives of victims.

We told earlier this month how McVeigh, who had already conned and abused seven women when he appeared in court, had gone on target 10 more victims after being freed from prison to await trial.

McVeigh finally pled guilty to a litany of charges in November but a Sunday Mail investigation revealed that officials missed the chance to stop the sick 32-year-old in 2023 when he was remanded in custody at court - only to be set free days later.

Now Gary, a 40-year-old dad from Yorkshire, has revealed how the was forced to tell his family that McVeigh, using his identity, was facing charges of fraud and rape.

Gary said: “It was a massive shock and the scale of it was unbelievable. One woman had told me she had seen my picture on a Facebook group called ‘Are we Dating the same guy’ and after comments from other women had reverse-searched my pictures and got in touch with me.

“By this point, she was about the 12th girl who contacted me and I found myself apologising for things I'd never done.

“I had nothing to do with this, I had to tell my ex-wife and my fiancee that this wasn't me.