Man Sentenced in Match.com Assault Case
Online dating is often portrayed as a dangerous, risky way to meet singles. We’ve always countered that argument with the fact that just about ANY activity is dangerous if you don’t take the right precautions. For example, eating unwashed vegetables could give you diseases, but everyone KNOWS to wash veggies after you buy them. And you can drown in 3 inches of water, but most people know not to stick their faces into their cereal bowls and breathe in.
This case, of course, is one of those situations that we hate to report on – a woman met a man on Match.com, went on a couple of dates, and after the second he sexually assaulted her. From MSNBC -
Alan Wurtzel was sentenced Monday to a year in prison, five years of probation and was ordered to register as a sex offender and complete a year of counseling.
It is a tragedy still, of course, as the woman probably feels violated and completely turned off to online dating. Unfortunately, this could have been avoided had the woman chosen to drive herself home and not give Wurtzel her address, although she’s not in the wrong by any means for feeling like she could trust a man that she clearly liked enough to go with on a second date. It’s unfortunate that we have to be on the defensive so often these days, but reality is reality. We’re just glad to hear the suspect got his comeuppance and the victim got her justice.
What do you think is the most important safety tip to keep in mind when online dating? What other steps should women (and men) take in online dating to avoid a disaster like this one?
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