A 20-minute date with a first-timer ‘ruined’ my life for years

A woman who matched on Tinder with Predator Christopher Harkins says she was subjected to threats and mental abuse for years – after spending 20 minutes in his company.

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

The sports massage therapist is one of half a dozen women who share their harrowing, and often surprising, experiences with one of Scotland’s hottest romance tricks in NEW BBC Revelations Podcast: Adapted to a Predator.

A BBC investigation revealed that 11 women tried to report Harkins in Scotland to the police until 2012.

Despite allegations of physical assault, fraud, extortion and abuse, Harkins was not investigated by the police until late 2019.

Police Scotland said that the previous reports were “around the financial situation” and they were all treated in isolation – a situation that it expected”.

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

Nadia thinks she should have been stopped earlier.

He is among a number of victims who have called police Scotland to apologize to those who tried to report him.

Nadia, now 34, and Harkins, now 38, were paired at Seveth seven years ago.

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

For Nadia, the first Red Flag comes when she arrives to collect harkins from her flat in Cumbernauld.

He opened the door wearing jogging pants and a vest, saying he was tired of going out. He suggested they stay at his flat and order takeaway.

“This is where it gets weird,” Nadia said.

“I went in. The place was bare. There was no furniture. The living room was completely separated from a TV in some boxes.”

Harkins offers to make Nadia some vodka. When he ditched the alcohol and poured himself a diet coke, he said the atmosphere changed.

“He seems to have an internal Tanttrum man,” he said.

“He looked at me like, ‘Who do you think you are? Why did you pour yourself a drink?’

“I was a little nervous and I immediately poured it to the top of the glass. When I turned around, I filled the diet coke.

“The look in his eyes was crazy. He said something like, ‘You’re too short, you don’t respect my property. You’re a clown’.

“I remember thinking, ‘Are you serious?’ This is Laminate Flooging.

“I said, ‘Look, I’m just going’. And he said he pointed at the door and swore.

Nadia says: “I was scared. I thought he was going to go outside. I jumped in my car, I locked the doors and that was it.

“I thought it was over there but it got worse.

“You wouldn’t believe my life was affected by a 20-minute conversation with this man.”

The rejection appears to be a major trigger for Harkins, who began bombarding Nadia with calls and messages as soon as she left.

The first to read: “How dare someone like you have the will to leave me?”

As things escalated over the next few hours, Nadia said Harkins threatened to “petrol bomb” her and attack her father.

She also sent a barrage of insults about her appearance.

This had a devastating effect on Nadia’s confidence – something she worked hard to restore during a difficult time in her life.

“I get messages saying I’m a fat cow,” he said.

“I’m a catfish. I’m like a pig. I wear the best. I continue all night. I cry that I get a headache. In the morning I still send me abuse.

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

“He knows he’s losing weight and going to the gym.

“Just when I thought I was at my best he literally knocked it out of me.”

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

In this, he can be heard saying that he will go to his father’s house, drag him and give him a kick.

“I was told there was nothing that could be done for me,” Nadia said.

“They said there was no direct threat – if and when he did something they would be called directly.

“There wasn’t a statement. They didn’t want to help me. I shouted from the roof, ‘I can’t do it, you don’t know me,’ he threatened me’.”

Nadia said: “If they had done something earlier, then a lot could have been done for the girls who came 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.

He said: “The brother-in-law thought he put me, if I don’t have a child, I will end my life.”

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

He was initially accused of threatening and abusive behavior towards Nadia, and threatening her family.

As part of a Plea-Deal, a not-guilty plea was accepted in that charge – and Harkins pleaded guilty to stealing more from women who had bank loans to get the bank loans.

The latest to interest Police Scotland’s investigation is one of the women who returned to the media in a desperate bid to expose Harkins and protect others.

He was also turned down by the police when Harkins scammed him out of £3,247 for a fake holiday.

His 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 renewed and, this time, they were asked to give statements.

Harkins stands trial in 2024.

When Nadia reads about the testimony of a woman who was raped by Harkin, she commits a painful torture – this is two months after her date with him.

“That Lassie may be perfectly saved,” he said.

“He might have been arrested and he wouldn’t talk to her at all.

“Bad. That’s all I can say about that. It’s disgusting.”

Our investigation has yet to uncover further Harkins fraud of nearly £70,000.

The BBC understands he targeted at least 30 women.

We wrote to Harkins in prison to ask about these allegations. He didn’t answer.

DCI Lyndsay Laird is leading Police Scotland’s investigation into Harkins.

He said it was difficult to say why the reports were not investigated earlier.

“Each one is reported at different stages, so they’re not all reported together, they’re reported to different divisions across police Scotland,” he said.

“There were no reports of physical or sexual abuse by the police during that time.

“It is mainly around the financial situation, that if they are treated alone, they are taken as civil assessments.

“I think it’s safe to say the policing has been much more extensive since the time the initial reports came in.”

Many women told the BBC that they had reported physical attacks and sexual acts in the years before the police investigation.

Asked if Police Scotland would apologize to victims who tried to report Harkins, DCI Laird said: “I think it’s a difficult question to answer.

“I think they will have a successful outcome in court today, based on the investigation that was conducted.

“I would say with everything we put in place since then, I hope that experience is not replicated today.”

In response to the comments, Nadia said: “I know they are working hard when they decide to actually do something quickly.

“He’s been doing this for years. It’s avoidable. They should apologize. They can stop him.”

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

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

“Those girls have achieved more than you think,” she said.

“Now all these other people who will meet him in the future will not have to. What they are doing is amazing – great.”

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

“I feel really good today,” he said.

“It’s a different kind of me and a lot more confident. I’m not afraid to speak up and I’m not going to ignore a red flag.”