A man was contacted by numerous victims after a serial rapist named Ryan McVeigh used his photos and name on dating apps to rape, abuse and defraud 17 women
A man has been left shocked after a serial rapist hijacked his identity on numerous dating apps to prey on 17 unsuspecting women.
Gary Stephenson revealed he was approached by multiple women, who fell victim to serial rapist Ryan McVeigh, who misused his photos and name to carry out heinous acts of emotional, financial, and physical abuse. McVeigh initially deceived and exploited seven women by the time he appeared in court and later went on to target 10 more after being granted bail ahead of his trial.
In November, McVeigh confessed to numerous charges, but an investigation carried out by The Sunday Mail disclosed how authorities had missed a vital opportunity to apprehend him in 2023 when he was imprisoned while awaiting trial, only to be released days later. Gary, 40, described the trauma of informing his loved ones that McVeigh – under his identity – was accused of such heinous crimes. 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 reversed 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 fiancée that this wasn’t me. When the police got involved, that’s when we began to realise how serious it was and they said there could be as many as 70 women.
Gary revealed alarm bells started to go off when he realised the man who stole his identity had been charged with rape using his name. He explained: “But what scared me was when I found out McVeigh was being charged with rape, using with my name. I had spent time on the phone to the police in Scotland where they had to ask me if I’d sent private pictures of myself to women. They knew it wasn’t me, but they had to ask me about what tattoos I had on my hands and my body.
“I then had someone tell me my pictures were on a sperm donation site. I rang the police because they had put a picture of my daughter and myself on this site. I’ve got a big following on TikTok where I tell jokes and post videos but all the pictures he used were from my Facebook profile.
“I don’t know him, have never met him. He must have just picked me out of thin air, but when these women see him, because it’s my pictures he sent, they see me. I’m disgusted by what he has done to these women and these poor women, the lies, the fraud, the rapes. It’s terrifying.”
McVeigh lured the women through dating apps including Tinder and Bumble, adopting numerous fake identities such as Gary Stephenson, Paul Justin and Reece Fletcher. McVeigh has confessed to charges of the rape two main victims and several instances of fraud.
In November McVeigh pleaded guilty to 38 charges spanning from 2023 and 2024 at the High Court in Glasgow. However an investigation by the Sunday Mail revealed McVeigh first appeared in court on petition on 24 November 2023, facing a serious domestic abuse charge, and was remanded in custody. Court documents indicate he was granted bail at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court five days later on December 1.
After the Sunday Mail questioned the decision, Crown officials admitted a mistake had been made and that he had actually been released under a different procedure due to lack of evidence. The bail references are now expected to be removed when he is sentenced next month.
By then, McVeigh had already victimised seven individuals, and within weeks of being freed, he resumed targeting 10 women before finally being put back into custody eight months later in July 2024. In court in November, he ultimately admitted to defrauding 17 victims out of £81,872 and raping two of the women over a 12-month span.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Liam Kerr MSP stated: “This case exposes the serious dangers of the SNP’s relentless weakening of Scotland’s justice system.
“Victims deserve far stronger protections, including tougher action against online deception and predators who shamefully exploit dating apps. The Scottish Conservatives would stop the cost-cutting and scrap the reckless early release schemes and instead prioritise women’s safety and create a justice system which puts victims first.”
Scottish Labour Justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill declared: “More must be done to prevent and prosecute these appalling crimes. It is important that our justice system and our laws are able to deal with the ever-evolving nature of these crimes so those using apps to defraud or assault women face the full force of the law. Apps must also ensure they have appropriate safeguards to protect people online.”
The spokesperson added: “Scottish Labour will end the SNP’s soft touch approach to justice and work across society to tackle fraud and violence against women.”