Personal Injury Blog

Match.com to Add Sex Offender Screenings to Prevent Assaults

August 25th, 2011
Sex offender screening

The screenings would add an additional layer of security for the users of the dating services.

Dating website Match.com has agreed to conduct sex offender screenings of all users of its website, in order to weed out sex offenders.  The move comes in settlement of a lawsuit filed by a woman who was sexually assaulted by a man she met on Match.com.

The woman, Carole Markin had been a member of Match.com for seven years, and says that she had never had any bad experiences with the website.  That was until the day she met 67-year-old Alan Paul Wurtzel.   One evening after a date, he followed her to her front door, barged his way inside and forced himself on her.  She later found out that he had had least six previous sex offense convictions. Last week, 67-year-old Wurtzel pleaded no contest to charges of sexual battery.

Markin filed a lawsuit against Match.com.  Her lawsuit did not seek monetary compensation, but did ask that Match.com install sex offender screening checks for all members of its website.

Now, Match.com has agreed to settle the lawsuit by agreeing to install background screenings for all members.  Other dating websites are likely to follow suit.  Already some other dating websites, including e Harmony have indicated that they are likely to install stronger security checks on their websites to eliminate sex offenders.

Internet dating websites have long been a favorite playground for sex offenders looking for prey.  Almost all dating websites have a disclaimer saying that they’re not liable for any harm that results from the use of their services.  However, it has been obvious to Los Angeles assault lawyers for a while, that dating websites can no longer afford to hide behind these disclaimers.

These websites are lucrative, and profit to the tunes of billions of dollars from the single men and women who use their services.  A screening check for sex offenders is not just appropriate, but necessary.  Information about sex offenders is easily available.  People convicted of certain types of sex crimes are required to register in a federal sex offender registry.  Sex offender screenings of persons who want to use the services of a dating website provide users with an additional layer of protection.

Persons in California who have been victims of sexual assault may be eligible for compensation from the assailant in a civil court.  While a criminal action can punish the assailant for these crimes, a civil action can help compensate a victim for the damages suffered.  A sexual assault victim can recover financial compensation for damages.  Apart from sexual assault, a person may be eligible for damages when they have suffered battery, or domestic violence or have been the victims of gun crimes.

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