A 20-minute date with a Tinder predator 'destroyed' my life for years

A woman who matched on Tinder with predator Christopher Harkins says she was subjected to death threats and abuse that "destroyed" her mental health for years - after spending just 20 minutes in his company.

Speaking for the first time about going on a date with the notorious fraudster and rapist in 2018, Nadia said the abuse started after she ended their date early because of "red flags".

The sports massage therapist is among half a dozen women who shared their distressing, and often bizarre, experiences with one of Scotland's most prolific romance fraudsters in new BBC Disclosure podcast: Matched with a Predator.

The BBC investigation revealed that 11 women tried to report Harkins to Police Scotland as far back as 2012.

Despite allegations of physical attacks, frauds, threats and abuse, Harkins was not investigated by police until late 2019.

Police Scotland said earlier reports were "mainly around the financial situation" and they were all treated in isolation - a situation it hoped "wouldn't be replicated now".

Harkins spent almost a decade carrying out crimes against women he met online in Scotland and London, before being jailed in 2024.

Nadia believes he should have been stopped earlier.

She is among several victims who have called for Police Scotland to apologise to those who tried to report him.

Nadia, who is now 34, and Harkins, now 38, matched on Tinder seven years ago.

They chatted over messages and after a few weeks, they decided to go out for dinner in Glasgow.

For Nadia, the first red flag came when she arrived to pick up Harkins from his flat in Cumbernauld.

He opened the door wearing jogging trousers and a vest, saying he was too tired to go out. He suggested they stay at his flat and order takeaway.

"This is where it gets bizarre," said Nadia.

"I went in. The place was bare. No furniture. The living room was totally empty apart from a TV on some boxes."

Harkins offered to make Nadia a vodka. When she declined the alcohol and poured herself a Diet Coke, she says the atmosphere changed.

"It was as if he had an internal man tantrum," she said.

"He looked at me as if, 'who do you think you are? Why are you pouring yourself a drink?'

"I was a bit nervous and I poured it right to the top of the glass. As I turned, I spilled the Diet Coke.

"The look in his eyes was crazy. He said something like, 'You're so clumsy, you don't respect my property. You're a clown'.

"I remember thinking, 'Are you for real?' It was laminate flooring.

"I said, 'look, I'm just going to go'. And he said he pointed to the door and swore.

Nadia says: "I was terrified. I thought he was going to follow me out. I jumped in my car, I locked the doors and that was it.

"I thought it had ended there but it just got so much worse.

"You wouldn't believe that my life was affected so badly by a 20-minute interaction with this guy."

The rejection appears to have been a major trigger for Harkins, who started to bombard Nadia with calls and messages as soon as she left.

The first one read: "How dare someone like you have the audacity to leave a date with me?"

As things escalated over the following hours, Nadia says Harkins threatened to "petrol bomb" her home, kill her and attack her dad.

He also sent a barrage of insults about her appearance.

This had a devastating impact on Nadia's self esteem - something she'd worked hard to restore after going through a difficult period in her life.

"I got messages saying I was a fat cow," she said.

"I was a catfish. I looked like a pig. I wore too much make-up. That continued all through the night. I cried that much I got a headache. At six in the morning he was still sending me abuse.

"I remember looking in the mirror and I was ashamed of myself.

"He knew I'd lost weight and had been going to the gym.

"When I thought I was at my best he literally ripped it away from me."

The day after their date, Nadia reported the threats and abuse to Police Scotland. She also played a recording of a phone call from Harkins.

In it, he can be heard saying he would go to her dad's house, drag him out and give him a kicking.

"I was told nothing could be done for me," Nadia said.

"They said there was no direct threat - if and when he did something to call them straight back.

"Nobody took a statement. They did not want to help me. I was screaming from the roof, 'I can't have this, you don't know what he's capable of, he's threatening me'."

Nadia said: "If they'd have done something then, then a lot of things could have been done for the girls that were after me."

Harkins continued his abuse long after their date ended.

Nadia blocked his number but more than a year later, he was still harassing her by contacting people she knew on social media.

She said: "The frame of mind he put me in, if I didn't have my daughter, I would have ended my life."

Harkins is currently serving a 12-year jail sentence after being convicted of 19 offences against 10 women, including physical and sexual violence.

He was initially charged with threatening and abusive behaviour towards Nadia, and of threatening her family.

As part of a plea-deal, a not guilty plea was accepted to that charge - and Harkins pleaded guilty to stealing more than £214,000 from women, via holiday scams, fake investment schemes and by using their identities to take out bank loans.

What finally sparked an investigation by Police Scotland was one of the women turning to the media in a desperate bid to expose Harkins and protect others.

She had also been turned away by the police when Harkins scammed her out of £3,247 for a fake holiday.

Her story was published in October 2019.

The extent of Harkins' crimes quickly became apparent and police launched a formal investigation.

Nadia and others who made historical reports were revisited and, this time, they were asked to give statements.

Harkins stood trial in 2024.

As Nadia read about the testimony of a woman who was raped by Harkins, she made a sickening realisation - it was two months after his date with her.

"That lassie could have been totally saved," she said.

"He could have been arrested and she would never have had an interaction with him.

"Vile. That's all I can say about that. It's disgusting."

Our investigation has uncovered further alleged frauds by Harkins of almost £70,000.

The BBC understands he targeted at least 30 women.

We wrote to Harkins in prison to ask about these allegations. He did not reply.

DCI Lyndsay Laird led the Police Scotland investigation into Harkins.

She said it was difficult to say why the reports weren't investigated earlier.

"Each one was reported at different stages, so they weren't all reported together, they were reported in different divisions throughout Police Scotland," she said.

"There was no reports of physical or sexual abuse ever made to the police at that time.

"It was mainly around the financial situation, which when they're treated in isolation, they have been taken as civil investigations.

"I think it's safe to say policing has evolved massively since the time those initial reports have come in."

Several women have told the BBC they did report physical assaults and sexual misconduct in the years before the police investigation.

Asked if Police Scotland would apologise to the victims who tried to report Harkins, DCI Laird said: "I think that's a very difficult question to answer.

"I think they've got a successful court result now, based on the investigation that was conducted.

"I would say with everything that we've put in place since then, I would hope that that experience wouldn't be replicated now."

In response to those comments, Nadia said: "I know they really did work hard when they decided to actually do something about it but they should have done something sooner.

"He was doing this for years. It could have been avoided. They should apologise. They could have stopped him."

Harkins was jailed last year, almost five years after he was first arrested. He was convicted on the evidence of 10 women.

Nadia received a phone call to tell her about the outcome.

"Those women achieved more than what you think," she said.

"Now all these other people that could have met him in future don't need to. What they did was just amazing - huge."

The mother-of-two has managed to rebuild her life and her confidence but the experience has left its mark.

"I'm so good now," she said.

"It's a totally different me and so much more confident. I'm not afraid to speak up and I will never ignore a red flag again."