Psychiatrist: LGBTQ Youth Vulnerable, Not Protected From Access To Dating Sites Like Grindr

A Lawrence police officer is behind bars without bail, after he was arraigned Tuesday on charges of raping a 13-year-old boy he met online.

Forty-nine-year-old Carlos Vieira faces charges including aggravated rape of a child. He's a 20-year veteran of the Lawrence police force.

Prosecutors say Vieira found the teenager on the same-sex dating app Grindr. He allegedly met and assaulted the boy at a Lawrence park last summer.

For more on kids' use of apps such as Grindr, WBUR's Deborah Becker spoke with Dr. Jack Turban on All Things Considered. He's a resident physician in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital who has researched and written extensively on the mental health and social media use of LGBTQ youth. Turban says sites including Grindr should be doing more to keep kids from accessing them. Hear the conversation above.