Man accused of burglarizing Rockland County apartment while on Tinder date

SOUTH NYACK, New York (WABC) -- A man is accused of burglarizing a Rockland County apartment while he was on a date arranged through the app Tinder.

Police in South Nyack arrested Kevin Clark for burglary, grand larceny and possession of stolen property.

Investigators say that after meeting a 25-year old woman on Tinder, they went out to eat Saturday night and returned to her multi-family house in South Nyack which is broken up into apartments, one of which is occupied by the woman's friend.

While they were sitting on the porch, Clark said he had to go to the bathroom and instead went into the friend's unlocked apartment and stole cash, jewelry, and some electronic devices, according to police.

Police say the victim saw Clark rummaging through her purse and called 911. The 26-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene.

He was remanded to the Rockland County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

South Nyack police issued a reminder to people to be cautious about letting acquaintances they meet online or through apps into their homes.

"We would urge people if you're going to meet somebody, use one of these dating sites, meet them in a public place, meet them where people are," said South Nyack police chief Brent Newbury. "Don't bring them back to your house unless you're 100 percent sure they're not a creep who's going to do something like this."

Police say Clark has previous burglary arrests on his record.

The arrest drew strong reaction from young women who say they do not use Tinder. The dating app allows users to swipe through profiles of potential love matches with people in proximity to their location.

Clark is from Highland Falls, about 30 miles north of South Nyack.

"Would I think that he would do that? No, but you never know nowadays," said Katelyn Spicer. "You can't really judge someone on how they look."

"He looks kind of like a normal person, but you can't really judge a person on the surface," said Natalie Vilotijevic.