“A 20-minute date with a Tinder predator ruined my life for years.”

She is one of many victims who have called on Police Scotland to apologize to those who tried to report him.

Nadia, now 34, and Harkins, 38 Matches On Tinder seven years ago.

They exchanged letters, and after a few weeks, they decided to go out to dinner in Glasgow.

For Nadia, the first warning sign came when she went to pick up Harkins from his apartment.

He answered the door wearing sweatpants and a tank top, and said he was too tired to go out. He suggested they stay at his apartment and order takeaway.

“This is where things get weird,” Nadia recalls.

“I walked in. The apartment was empty. There was no furniture. The living room was completely empty, except for a TV in some boxes.”

Harkins offered to make Nadia vodka. When she rejected the alcohol and poured herself a Diet Coca-Cola, she said the atmosphere changed.

“It was like I was having an internal tantrum,” he explains.

“He looked at me as if to say: Who do you think you are? Why would you help yourself to something?” I was a little nervous and poured the cup to the brim. When she turned around, she spilled a Coca-Cola.”

He had a crazy look. He said something like, “You’re so clumsy, you don’t respect my property. You’re a clown.”

“I remember thinking: ‘Are you serious?’ It was hardwood floors.”

I said: Look, I’m leaving. He pointed to the door and started cursing.”

“I was terrified,” Nadia says. “I thought he was going to follow me. I got in the car, locked the doors, and that was it.”

“I thought that was the end of it, but it got much worse.”

“You can’t imagine how a 20-minute interaction with this man affected my life.”

Rejection appears to have been a major motivation for Harkins, who began harassing Nadia with calls and messages as soon as she left.

The first one said, “How dare you walk away from a date with me?”

As the situation escalated over the next few hours, Nadia alleges that Harkins threatened to throw a Molotov cocktail into her house, kill her, and attack her father.

He also repeatedly insulted her with comments about her appearance.

This had a devastating effect on Nadia’s self-esteem, something she struggled to regain after going through a difficult period in her life.

“I received messages telling me I was a fat cow,” she says.

“That I was a fraud, that I looked like a pig, and that I was wearing too much make-up. This went on all night. I cried so much that my head hurt. At six in the morning he was still insulting me.”

“I remember looking in the mirror and feeling ashamed of myself.” He knew I lost weight and went to the gym. “Just when I thought I was at my best, he literally took it away from me.”

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

There he was heard saying that he would go to her father’s house, drag him and beat him.

“They told me they couldn’t do anything for me,” Nadia recalls.

“They said there was no immediate threat and if I did anything I would contact them immediately.”

“No one took my statement. They didn’t want to help me. I was screaming from the roof: I can’t allow this! They don’t know what he’s capable of! He’s threatening me!”

“If they had done something, many things could have been done to the girls he harassed,” he points out.

Harkins continued to harass her long after their date ended. Nadia blocked his number, but more than a year later, he was still communicating with people she knew on social media.

“The mental state it caused me, if I hadn’t given birth to my daughter, I would have taken my life,” she says.

Harkins is serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted of committing 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, his guilty plea to that charge was accepted, and Harkins pleaded guilty to stealing more than £214,000 ($282,000) from the women through travel scams and fraudulent investment schemes and using their identities to obtain bank loans.

What finally led to a police investigation was one woman turning to the media in a desperate attempt to unmask Harkins and protect others.

Police also denied the woman help when Harkins cheated her of £3,247 (about $4,300) for a fake holiday.

Her story was published in October 2019. The extent of Harkins’ crimes soon became clear and police launched a formal investigation.

Nadia and others who had made complaints in the past were contacted again and this time asked to provide evidence.

Harkins’ trial takes place in 2024. As Nadia reads the testimony of a woman who was raped by Harkins, she has a terrible discovery: it happened two months after her terrible date.

“That girl could have been saved,” he lamented.

“They could have arrested him and she could have had no contact with him at all.”

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

Our investigation uncovered further alleged fraud committed by Harkins worth around £70,000 ($92,000).

The BBC learned that his victims were at least 30 women.

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

Detective Chief Inspector Lindsay Laird led the police investigation into Harkins.

He said it was difficult to explain why these accusations were not investigated sooner.

He explained: “Each case was reported at a different stage, so they were not all reported at once, but in different departments of Police Scotland.”

“No complaints were made to police of physical or sexual assault at that time.”

“These were primarily financial matters and, when dealt with separately, were considered civil investigations.”

“I think it can be said that policing has evolved significantly since receiving those first complaints.”

Several women told the BBC that they had reported being subjected to physical attacks and sexual harassment in the years leading up to the police investigation.

Asked whether Police Scotland would apologize to victims who tried to report Harkins, Laird said: “I think that is a very difficult question to answer.”

“I think they have now received a positive result in court thanks to the investigation that was conducted.”

“With all the measures we have implemented since then, I hope the experience will not be repeated.”

In response to those comments, Nadia says: “I know they tried hard when they decided to do something about it, but they should have acted sooner.”

“They’ve been doing this for years. This could have been avoided. They should apologise. They could have stopped it.”

Harkins was jailed last year, nearly five years after his first arrest. He was convicted thanks to the testimony of ten women.

Nadia received a phone call informing her of the result.

“These women have accomplished so much more than you think,” she says.

“Now, all those people who might have met him in the future don’t have to. What they did was wonderful and extraordinary.”

This mother of two was able to rebuild her life and self-confidence, but the experience left its mark on her.

“Now I’m much better,” he admits.

“I’m a completely different, more confident person. I’m not afraid to speak up and I’ll never ignore a red flag again.”

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