Saturday, April 23, 2011
Match.com, the popular online dating website, has announced it will begin screening applicants against the national sex offender registry after it was sued by a woman claiming she was raped by someone she met through the service.
The new policy came only days after the lawsuit was filed by television producer Carole Markin.
Match.com President Mandy Ginsberg said her company had previously not used the sex offender registry to screen dating applicants because the database was considered to be unreliable.
The lawsuit demands that the court impose an injunction on Match.com to prevent it from accepting any new members until it installed a system to screen out rapists.
Markin says that she met Alan Paul Wurtzel twice, but on their second date he followed her home and attacked her. She searched his name online and discovered that Wurtzel has been convicted six times for sexual battery. He has pleaded not guilty to raping Markin. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 26.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Match.com to Begin Checking Users Against Sex Offender Database (by Alex Stone, ABC News)
Alleged Rape Victim Claims Match.com Put Her at Risk (by Matthew Heiler, On Point News)
Woman Sues Online Dating Site Over Alleged Sexual Assault (by Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times)
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