The 26-year-old Syrian man accused of raping a colleague at a care home in Sundsvall in March this year matched with the victim on a dating app prior to the assault. This is revealed in the police’s preliminary investigation.

Prosecutor Maria Lindgren previously told Samnytt that the two parties had not socialized privately before the incident. However, the preliminary investigation shows that they had matched on the dating app Smitten shortly beforehand.

– I recognized him, the woman said in a police interview.

Reported for Rape

The two colleagues work in different departments. On the night of March 6 this year, when the man was due to work the night shift alone at the facility, they agreed that the woman would come to his department.

– I come in, we say hello to each other, and he asks if I want to go out for a smoke, the woman recounted in her interview.

According to the woman, the man later asked if he could have a hug, to which she “of course” agreed. It was while they were hugging that the man allegedly first kissed the woman and then began touching her buttocks.

He is also said to have touched the woman’s breasts and inside her underwear, but the woman says she didn’t want to continue because “anyone could walk in.” The next day, she reported her colleague to the police for rape.

The accused man denies the crime. He claims that it was the woman who took the initiative and kissed him on the neck, but that he rejected her advances.

READ ALSO: Charges: Syrian at Care Home in Sundsvall Raped Colleague