NYC Woman Allegedly Held Internet Date Hostage for $100K and Tortured Him

A man went to the Bronx to see a woman he connected with on Instagram but reportedly ended up gagged and on the brink of death, according to the New York Post.

“The woman he’d been chatting to was actually part of a group of sadists — who spent hours torturing the kidnapped man, even stabbing him while demanding $100,000 in ransom on a FaceTime call to his horrified brother, Manhattan prosecutors allege,” the outlet said Monday.

Authorities later found the man bound and gagged, and now, 22-year-old Valerie Rosario faces charges of kidnapping and attempted murder.

A photo showed the accused young woman wearing a white top, ripped jeans, and white shoes.

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) website, over 40 million citizens use online dating services or apps, and warned it is smart for people to take precautions.

“Dating apps don’t conduct criminal background checks on users, so it’s up to each user to determine if they are comfortable meeting up with someone,” the organization says.

Prosecutors allege the woman lured the man to the residence on February 7. Upon his arrival, three men entered and one pistol-whipped him, according to court documents.

The Post report continued:

Rosario and the accomplices then allegedly stripped the victim “placed him in a bathtub, poured flammable substances on him, and burned him with a flame” all over his body, the charging document states.

They also tormented him with a knife, striking him “about the legs, back and body,” according to the court doc.

The group reportedly chose the victim and lured him there because of money he displayed on social media.

RAINN urged people to video chat with the other person before meeting face to face, to tell someone else where you will be going, to meet with the person in a public place, and to avoid depending on the person you are meeting for transportation.

Suspect Javier Vargas was later found sitting in a van with a knife while the victim lay in the back, “unconscious, wrapped in a blanket with tape covering his mouth,” according to the complaint.

The man could only breathe with great difficulty, noted Assistant District Attorney Andrew Kluger.

In court, Kluger asked that Rosario be held without bail, but defense attorney Raymond Loving requested she be released on her own recognizance because she lives with family members and works full-time.

Approximately two-thirds of voters in New York believe bail law should be changed to allow judges discretion to “keep dangerous criminals off the streets,” a recent Sienna College survey found.

But Judge Soma Syed noted the serious nature of the charges, remanding the young woman into custody. In addition, Vargas and another suspect were also remanded.