Journalist, who allegedly raped women after promising them jobs in porn industry, could face trial

A Seattle-based journalist, who is accused of raping at least six women after allegedly tricking them into believing he could make them porn stars, could face trial in November.

Michael-Jon Matthew 'Matt' Hickey, 41, faces four counts of rape charges after being in custody for a year. The former tech journalist has pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming any sex he had with the women was consensual, The Daily Mail reported.

The suspected incidents date back to 2001 when Hickey, posing as a female porn recruiter, first sent friend request to his victims and then messaged them. The women claimed that the accused had duped them into meeting him and posing for nude photos. He had also lured them to his apartment for sex, the women alleged.

Some of the victims said that when they first went to report the matter, they were turned down by the investigators as police weren't interested in pursuing their allegations. But when their stories began trending on Facebook pages, an editor at the Stranger — who Hickey actually once wrote for — took note, which led to a probe.

The investigation then revealed that the reporter had posed as a female recruiter named Deja Stwalley, and contacted his targets on social media by sending them friend request. As Stwalley, he had told his alleged victims that he runs a "woman-owned" talent recruiting company called New Seattle Talent.

Once lured into his promises, he reportedly convinced his alleged victims to "audition with one of our specially chosen "hunks".

"You'll audition with one of our specially selected guys.... It's not for everyone, and if it's not for you, that's ok. But keep in mind, we're auditioning for hardcore, so the ability to have sex with a [stranger] while keeping a smile on your face is important," the ads, which he posted on Craigslist in Seattle and Las Vegas, read as according to Los Angeles Times.

The audition was supposedly a three-step process that included a job interview, a nude photo shoot and the final stage was having sex with Hickey.

Hickey had also created a second fake social media profile – under the name Chrissy Baaten – to endorse Stwalley and her business. Through the second fake account, he had allegedly assured women that Stwalley's job offer was really good and they could make huge money working with her.

Hickey is being held on $200,000 (£152,427) bail at King County Correctional Facility pending his court appearance.