A woman who used dating apps to lure men into hotel rooms before violently robbing and torturing them has been jailed for nine years.
Caprice Brown, 24, posed under fake names like “Zara” and “Maia” on apps such as Badoo and Tinder, then arranged hotel meetups with her unsuspecting victims. Once the men were alone, Brown and her accomplices launched premeditated attacks — tying the victims up with masking tape and handcuffs, and in one case, burning a man with a hot iron when he refused to give up his phone password.
The first incident took place at the Jurys Inn in Birmingham in July 2020. After gaining the man’s trust, Brown called in another woman to help bind him. When he didn’t cooperate, they repeatedly burned him with the iron, leaving him with serious injuries. His wallet, an Aston Villa season ticket, and his bank details were stolen. His card was later used to buy a £1,000 phone.
Two months later, she struck again — this time at the Britannia Hotel in Coventry — with a different accomplice, Karissa Alfrez (now known as Damani Scott-Slue), who was jailed for six years. The victim in that case was tied up and threatened with scissors before Brown and Alfrez made off with his belongings.
Birmingham Crown Court heard both victims suffered long-term trauma. One man was forced to quit his job and move house, while the other endured what the judge described as “extreme degradation.”
Passing sentence, Judge Simon Drew KC said: “These were really nasty offences. The victims were made especially vulnerable. It was obviously planned and went on for a considerable amount of time.”
Brown was eventually caught after police tracked her IP address and recovered stolen items from her home.