A Californian entertainment executive is suing online dating site Match.com for introducing her to the man who raped her
A woman is suing online dating site Match.com after she was allegedly raped by a man she met through the website.
The entertainment executive from California is demanding that the website screens all its members for sexual after discovering her attacker had previous convictions of sexual battery. She claims she was followed home by her assailant last year after their second date.
‘We are very disturbed to hear about this incident,’ says a spokesman for Match.com. ‘While incidents like this one are very rare, it doesn’t make them any less horrifying.’
The woman’s lawyer Mark L Webb is asking for a temporary injunction barring the site from signing up more members until his client’s demands are met. He says: ‘They are a very powerful and successful online dating service, and they have the means to do this.’
Mr Webb described the woman as an Ivy League graduate who works in television and film. On the night in question, she had agreed to meet her alleged assailant for a second date, claiming he seemed charming, but she claims he followed her home and forced himself on her.
‘This horrific ordeal completely blindsided me because I had considered myself savvy about online dating safety,’ she says. ‘Things quickly turned into a nightmare, beyond my control.’ After the man left, the woman learned he had been convicted on several counts of sexual battery.
The spokesman for Match.com says: ‘There are steps you can take to protect yourself online and offline, whether you met someone on an online dating service, through an acquaintance or at a bar.’ Charges are pending in the case.
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