Link: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/charming-man-met-dating-app-33012456
Credit: Jane Cohen, Wales Online, 04:00, 07 Dec 2025
Archive: https://archive.ph/wip/xycys
Katie Yates and her attacker Jason Smith who is serving 15 years in prison
When Katie Yates signed up to a dating app for the first time after a painful divorce she was looking for a little fun and companionship. And when charming Jason Smith sent her a message, he seemed like the sort of gentle giant who could help the mum-of-two smile again.
But his flattery and charm were all lies and once he’d got his foot in the door, he subjected terrified Katie to months of physical and mental abuse before raping and attempting to drown her just days before Christmas.
Now Katie, 42, from Cardiff, is bravely waiving her anonymity as a victim of sexual assault to warn other women to be wary about the strangers they meet on dating apps who may be posing as nice guy in an attempt to lure them in.
“You scroll on all the profiles with smiling photos and slick words, but there are some people who should be looking for a therapist not a girlfriend,” she says.
“Jason, then 29, was handsome and very charming but underneath the smiles he was a violent rapist who loved to be cruel.
“For ten months, my life was a living hell. It’s made me think twice about every going on a dating app ever again.
“I am lucky to be alive. It’s taken a long time to rebuild my life.”
He came across as charming to begin with
Katie had been single for five years when she signed up to Plenty of Fish in February 2018, at the urging of her loved ones.
“I was 35 and a single mum of two. I’d been through a bitter divorce in 2013 and men had been at the bottom of my agenda,” she explains. “My priority had been my children and I’d just focused on their needs.
“But friends and family told me it was time to find myself a boyfriend and I realised how lonely I’d actually been.”
As she scrolled through the profiles, a message popped up from Jason Smith, a railway maintenance worker.
“He seemed so warm and friendly – like a gentle giant. He told me he had a child and loved being a dad. It was a bonus he was handsome, too.
“He complimented me and he asked me lots of questions, like he really wanted to know everything about me.”
Katie, who was a trainee hairdresser at the time, was flattered by the attention and soon messages were pinging back and forth, until Jason asked her to meet him in a local Wetherspoons in his hometown of Pontypridd, South Wales.
“He greeted me with a big smile and he had the brightest blue eyes. He was incredibly charming with an infectious demeanour,” Katie recalls.
“We sipped coffee and the conversation flowed. He asked about my children and my divorce and he said he’d been single for a while.
“I wanted to be open and honest, so I explained I’d had some difficult health problems and had been through several surgeries.
“But whatever I said didn’t put him off and in those first few weeks, Jason showered me with attention and compliments.
“We’d talk for hours about everything. I even introduced him to my children.
“I felt so lucky, I believed Jason was a real catch. I honestly wondered why he hadn’t been snapped up already.”
Katie felt so 'lucky' to begin with
But just weeks into their relationship, Jason turned up at Katie’s house, extremely stressed and agitated.
“He told me he’d had a big falling out with his landlord and had to move out immediately,” Katie says.
“He asked if he could stay with me for a bit, just until he got a new place sorted.
“I wasn’t ready for things to progress that quickly. But he was very persuasive and sounded so desperate that I agreed he could stay temporarily.
“He promised he would cook and clean for me and I wouldn’t regret it.”
Jason moved into Katie’s two bedroomed house – and for the first few weeks, he kept to his word. But then he dropped a bombshell and confessed that he was unemployed.
“Being a single mother and a student, I worried about bills and paying my way, but Jason reassured me he’d get a job soon,” Katie says.
Katie now
But as days turned into weeks, Jason’s behaviour began to change dramatically.
“Jason began accusing me of fancying everyone in sight,” Katie says.
“One day he put his hands around my neck and strangled me until I passed out, after accusing me of fancying some random stranger. It was all pure fantasy in his head.”
Katie was shaken up but Jason begged for forgiveness and another chance. It wasn’t long though before the abuse continued.
“On a trip to the chippy, we got back to the car and Jason tipped a whole pot of gravy over my head and punched me,” Katie recalls.
“’That’s for looking at the guy behind the counter,’ he’d snarled at me. ‘You fancied him, didn’t you?'”
Now terrified of her dating app beau, who she realised also had a drink problem, Katie knew she had to end things but struggled to break free.
“If I went to see my parents, he’d demand to know why I was so long and accuse me of seeing someone else,” she says.
“His constant accusations wore me down and I slowly became isolated from my family.
“One day he called me 70 times and demanded for me to video call so he could see exactly where I was.
“He also became more cruel, telling me his ex-girlfriend was much more beautiful than I was. He enjoyed seeing me upset.”
Katie says that Jason never had any money to help towards the bills and she was struggling as a single parent to make ends meet.
“One time I found out he’d stolen money out of my child’s birthday cards that had been posted through the door,” she says.
“I got so used to wearing sunglasses. too, to hide my black eyes.
“I remember one day looking in the mirror and I barely recognised myself. I’d become so thin and fragile with the stress. I even had to give up my hairdressing course because I couldn’t concentrate on anything.”
Then on December 18, 2018, a trip to a holiday park in West Wales ended in disaster with Jason losing his temper and being removed by security staff.
“It was meant to be a break but it turned into a nightmare. He drank a bottle of whisky when we got there and became really angry for no reason at all,” Katie says.
“He ripped up all my clothes and the children’s toy elves.
“When we eventually got home, he came into the bedroom, pinned me down and raped me. I begged him to stop but he wouldn’t and told me I deserved it," she says.
“I looked into his eyes and they were dead. All I could see was anger and hatred.”
Four days later, terrified Katie was in the bath when Jason grabbed her head, pushed it under the water and held it there.
“He was so strong, my legs splashed frantically in the water. I thought he was going to drown me and I was going to die that moment,” she recalls.
“Finally, he released me as I spluttered and coughed, frantic for breath before he dunked my head under again.”
Jason’s ferocious attack was because he claimed Katie had been eyeing up staff in Sainsbury’s while they did their food shop.
“After he’d finished, I’d just sat in the bath, shaking and trembling, too terrified to even move,” she says.
Things finally came to a head when the following day, Jason beat Katie so badly, she thought she was going to die.
Katie's dad didn't recognise her after the attack
Thankfully, her children were not in the house at the time.
In fear for her life, Katie contacted her parents.
“My dad drove to my house and didn’t recognise me when he saw me. I looked like something out a Halloween movie,” she says.
“When my mum saw me, she broke down and was white with shock.”
Katie's mum broke down when she saw her daughter
Katie bravely contacted the police and told them everything. Jason was arrested but denied all charges and went on trial at Newport Crown Court in June 2019.
“I was still terrified of him. Seeing in that court room smirking was awful,” Katie says.
“But I found a strength inside of me and I knew I had to speak out against this terrible man who had horrifically abused me.”
Thankfully the jury believed Katie and found her ex-boyfriend guilty of rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating.
He was jailed for 15 years and was given a restraining order for ten years.
“I’m glad he is in jail. He has time to sit and think about what he did, but I doubt he’s sorry,” Katie says.
“I still suffer terrible flashbacks and nightmares from the abuse put me through though.”
Unfortunately for her, her abusive ex is eligible for parole in 2027 and Katie is terrified he will try to find her when he is out.
“I believe he will come looking for me and that really frightens me, but I don’t regret speaking out – he was a danger to women,” Katie says.
“I thought I’d struck lucky when I met Jason, but I’d invited a monster into my life.”
Credit: Jane Cohen, Wales Online, 04:00, 07 Dec 2025
Archive: https://archive.ph/wip/xycys
Katie Yates and her attacker Jason Smith who is serving 15 years in prison
When Katie Yates signed up to a dating app for the first time after a painful divorce she was looking for a little fun and companionship. And when charming Jason Smith sent her a message, he seemed like the sort of gentle giant who could help the mum-of-two smile again.
But his flattery and charm were all lies and once he’d got his foot in the door, he subjected terrified Katie to months of physical and mental abuse before raping and attempting to drown her just days before Christmas.
Now Katie, 42, from Cardiff, is bravely waiving her anonymity as a victim of sexual assault to warn other women to be wary about the strangers they meet on dating apps who may be posing as nice guy in an attempt to lure them in.
“You scroll on all the profiles with smiling photos and slick words, but there are some people who should be looking for a therapist not a girlfriend,” she says.
“Jason, then 29, was handsome and very charming but underneath the smiles he was a violent rapist who loved to be cruel.
“For ten months, my life was a living hell. It’s made me think twice about every going on a dating app ever again.
“I am lucky to be alive. It’s taken a long time to rebuild my life.”
He came across as charming to begin with
Katie had been single for five years when she signed up to Plenty of Fish in February 2018, at the urging of her loved ones.
“I was 35 and a single mum of two. I’d been through a bitter divorce in 2013 and men had been at the bottom of my agenda,” she explains. “My priority had been my children and I’d just focused on their needs.
“But friends and family told me it was time to find myself a boyfriend and I realised how lonely I’d actually been.”
As she scrolled through the profiles, a message popped up from Jason Smith, a railway maintenance worker.
“He seemed so warm and friendly – like a gentle giant. He told me he had a child and loved being a dad. It was a bonus he was handsome, too.
“He complimented me and he asked me lots of questions, like he really wanted to know everything about me.”
Katie, who was a trainee hairdresser at the time, was flattered by the attention and soon messages were pinging back and forth, until Jason asked her to meet him in a local Wetherspoons in his hometown of Pontypridd, South Wales.
“He greeted me with a big smile and he had the brightest blue eyes. He was incredibly charming with an infectious demeanour,” Katie recalls.
“We sipped coffee and the conversation flowed. He asked about my children and my divorce and he said he’d been single for a while.
“I wanted to be open and honest, so I explained I’d had some difficult health problems and had been through several surgeries.
“But whatever I said didn’t put him off and in those first few weeks, Jason showered me with attention and compliments.
“We’d talk for hours about everything. I even introduced him to my children.
“I felt so lucky, I believed Jason was a real catch. I honestly wondered why he hadn’t been snapped up already.”
Katie felt so 'lucky' to begin with
But just weeks into their relationship, Jason turned up at Katie’s house, extremely stressed and agitated.
“He told me he’d had a big falling out with his landlord and had to move out immediately,” Katie says.
“He asked if he could stay with me for a bit, just until he got a new place sorted.
“I wasn’t ready for things to progress that quickly. But he was very persuasive and sounded so desperate that I agreed he could stay temporarily.
“He promised he would cook and clean for me and I wouldn’t regret it.”
Jason moved into Katie’s two bedroomed house – and for the first few weeks, he kept to his word. But then he dropped a bombshell and confessed that he was unemployed.
“Being a single mother and a student, I worried about bills and paying my way, but Jason reassured me he’d get a job soon,” Katie says.
Katie now
But as days turned into weeks, Jason’s behaviour began to change dramatically.
“Jason began accusing me of fancying everyone in sight,” Katie says.
“One day he put his hands around my neck and strangled me until I passed out, after accusing me of fancying some random stranger. It was all pure fantasy in his head.”
Katie was shaken up but Jason begged for forgiveness and another chance. It wasn’t long though before the abuse continued.
“On a trip to the chippy, we got back to the car and Jason tipped a whole pot of gravy over my head and punched me,” Katie recalls.
“’That’s for looking at the guy behind the counter,’ he’d snarled at me. ‘You fancied him, didn’t you?'”
Now terrified of her dating app beau, who she realised also had a drink problem, Katie knew she had to end things but struggled to break free.
“If I went to see my parents, he’d demand to know why I was so long and accuse me of seeing someone else,” she says.
“His constant accusations wore me down and I slowly became isolated from my family.
“One day he called me 70 times and demanded for me to video call so he could see exactly where I was.
“He also became more cruel, telling me his ex-girlfriend was much more beautiful than I was. He enjoyed seeing me upset.”
Katie says that Jason never had any money to help towards the bills and she was struggling as a single parent to make ends meet.
“One time I found out he’d stolen money out of my child’s birthday cards that had been posted through the door,” she says.
“I got so used to wearing sunglasses. too, to hide my black eyes.
“I remember one day looking in the mirror and I barely recognised myself. I’d become so thin and fragile with the stress. I even had to give up my hairdressing course because I couldn’t concentrate on anything.”
Then on December 18, 2018, a trip to a holiday park in West Wales ended in disaster with Jason losing his temper and being removed by security staff.
“It was meant to be a break but it turned into a nightmare. He drank a bottle of whisky when we got there and became really angry for no reason at all,” Katie says.
“He ripped up all my clothes and the children’s toy elves.
“When we eventually got home, he came into the bedroom, pinned me down and raped me. I begged him to stop but he wouldn’t and told me I deserved it," she says.
“I looked into his eyes and they were dead. All I could see was anger and hatred.”
Four days later, terrified Katie was in the bath when Jason grabbed her head, pushed it under the water and held it there.
“He was so strong, my legs splashed frantically in the water. I thought he was going to drown me and I was going to die that moment,” she recalls.
“Finally, he released me as I spluttered and coughed, frantic for breath before he dunked my head under again.”
Jason’s ferocious attack was because he claimed Katie had been eyeing up staff in Sainsbury’s while they did their food shop.
“After he’d finished, I’d just sat in the bath, shaking and trembling, too terrified to even move,” she says.
Things finally came to a head when the following day, Jason beat Katie so badly, she thought she was going to die.
Katie's dad didn't recognise her after the attack
Thankfully, her children were not in the house at the time.
In fear for her life, Katie contacted her parents.
“My dad drove to my house and didn’t recognise me when he saw me. I looked like something out a Halloween movie,” she says.
“When my mum saw me, she broke down and was white with shock.”
Katie's mum broke down when she saw her daughter
Katie bravely contacted the police and told them everything. Jason was arrested but denied all charges and went on trial at Newport Crown Court in June 2019.
“I was still terrified of him. Seeing in that court room smirking was awful,” Katie says.
“But I found a strength inside of me and I knew I had to speak out against this terrible man who had horrifically abused me.”
Thankfully the jury believed Katie and found her ex-boyfriend guilty of rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating.
He was jailed for 15 years and was given a restraining order for ten years.
“I’m glad he is in jail. He has time to sit and think about what he did, but I doubt he’s sorry,” Katie says.
“I still suffer terrible flashbacks and nightmares from the abuse put me through though.”
Unfortunately for her, her abusive ex is eligible for parole in 2027 and Katie is terrified he will try to find her when he is out.
“I believe he will come looking for me and that really frightens me, but I don’t regret speaking out – he was a danger to women,” Katie says.
“I thought I’d struck lucky when I met Jason, but I’d invited a monster into my life.”
