>>
against
match.com
filed by a woman who claims she was attacked by a man she met on the
dating site
. mara schiavocampo has the details. good morning.
>> reporter:
good morning, meredith. like millions of others around the world the plaintiff turned to the internet for a
love connection
. instead of meeting a
nice guy
she said she was tracked down by a convicted
sex offender
and holds
match.com
partly responsible. she filed her lawsuit as
jane doe
but said she's tired of hiding and is revealing her identi identity. for 53-year-old freelance producer and writer carol markin
match.com
seemed a good way to meet
eligible bachelors
. men like alan wertzel.
>>
he said he helped take care of his mother, sister, paid medical bills.
>> reporter:
she agreed to meet him at a
west hollywood
cafe and the first date went so well they made plans again. though the second date started off well, markin said things turned bad claiming he took her home and
sexually assaulted
her in the living room.
>>
he jumped me. then he overpowered me. he's a
big guy
. he's a foot taller than me and weighs a hundred pounds more than i do. i was afraid.
>> reporter:
she said after the assault she googled her attacker and found he had a history of misdemeanor
sex crimes
, something she said
match.com
should have known.
>>
i don't think people go on websites thinking they are going to get themselves into unsafe situations.
>> reporter:
wertzel is facing two felony charges for the assault and has pled not guilty saying the sex was consensual. but last week markin filed a suit asking the site to screen new members as sexual offenders.
match.com
already has a date at your own risk disclaimer on the site, but days after the suit was filed they announced they will be checking all members, new and existing, against the national
sex offender registry
. match is one of the country's most popular dating sites, claiming millions of members. the new policy may change
online dating
across the board.
>>
i think other states will have to step up and do something so users know there are basic safety precautions in place.
>> reporter:
because his past convictions are misdemeanors he is not on the registry and the new policy would not have picked him out. still, markin is glad they aring looking at the issue.
>>
i elevated the question. it will make people aware of what can happen.
>> reporter:
markin said if match implements the new policy within
90 days
she will likely drop the lawsuit. she is not seeking financial compensation. meredith?
>>
mara schiavocampo, thank you very much. carol is with us now. good morning to you.
>>
hi.
>>
is it fair to say you're satisfied with
match.com
's announcement to
cross check
members against the registry?
>>
i'm excited. but i haven't actually talked to them myself.
>>
they haven't reached out to you in any way?
>>
not me personally. they spoke to my lawyer.
>>
if they do what they say they are going to do, that's good enough for you?
>>
i think so. we have to see. i'm waiting to see what they do.
>>
you know,
match.com
said the website had been considering adopting this screening process prior to your lawsuit, that your lawsuit didn't trigger the decision. although the timing of the decision, they say, was accelerated by your suit. do you feel like david versus goliath here?
>>
definitely. it's me, my lawyer, two publicists, you know, the team that put it together. but in terms of -- yes. you know, i'm one person fighting against a huge publically traded company.
>>
you say this man
sexually assaulted
you. it's been almost a year since you made the claim. you met him through
match.com
. why did you wait so long to file the suit if you believed then and you believe now that the company is partially responsible for what happened to you?
>>
i waited because i was waiting for the trial -- the
criminal trial
to be done. but it's not done yet.
>>
it hasn't started yet.
>>
right. but i was just waiting until that would be settled.
>>
what we know is at this point wurtzel has pled not guilty. we do know that back in
2004
he was put on probation for misdemeanor
sexual acts
involving other people. but
match.com
made it clear that even if they had this policy in effect now they would not have picked up on that. he wasn't on the
sex offender registry
. does that disturb you?
>>
he's on the
sex offender registry
for
los angeles
. i think they could broaden it and not just do the federal. they could go local, too.
>>
they say they think the system is flawed and they advise users to use common sense here, be prudent and wise. do you feel you wear bear any responsibility for not checking out this man before you went on the second date?
>>
well, i tried. you know, i asked for his name when he called me after the first name and there was a cell phone dropout or he mumbled. if i had his
full name
i would have googled him and not gone on the date.
>>
because you would have found he had this history.
>>
you also signed an agreement with
match.com
that ab solved them of liability if something happened to you. do you believe the company should be liable in the future?
>>
i think they are in the business of putting people together. i think they should be responsible about those things.
>>
but you signed this waiver that said they were not liable.
>>
you know, everybody signs waivers on websites that they barely read because it's in the fine print.
>>
so if you don't get hopefully what you want at this point then you will continue with the lawsuit?
>>
we're going to keep the lawsuit open until we are sure that they do what they said they would do.
>>
thank you so much for joining us this morning.
