Dating Site Match.com plans to check sexual offenders

In an announcement made by the famous dating site Match.com, it said that it will begin checking users against sex offender databases in the next three months.

Announcement made in an e-mail by the company

Mandy Ginsberg, president of the popular singles site made the announcement in an e-mail to the Associated Press. The site told the Associated Press that they have been contemplating doing such checking but "their historical unreliability has always led us to conclude against it."

In the statement made by Ginsberg regarding the implementation of the process, company president said, "We've been advised that a combination of improved technology and an improved database now enables a sufficient degree of accuracy to move forward with this initiative, despite its continued imperfection."

Announcement comes after the lawsuit filed by Californian woman

This announcement was made by the dating site a week after a California woman filed a lawsuit against the site. The woman was attacked by a man who she met through the site. In her complaint, she said that the first date went smoothly but on the second date, the man tried to physically assault her and forced to have sex with him.

As per the information provided by the woman’s lawyer to the Los Angeles Times, the change in policy of the Match.com was the outcome of the suit filed by the Californian woman. Mark L. Webb, the woman’s lawyer said that the man who assaulted his client had been charged of sexual battery previously also and has a history of sexual offences.

Plan the first meeting in public: Ginsberg

Webb represents the woman who is identified in the lawsuit as "Jane Doe. Supporting his client, he would also request a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to stop the site from allowing new members to sign up. The barring of the site will be asked for till the screening process was implemented and it was determined if the members were sexual predators or not.

Webb said, "They are a very powerful and successful online dating service, and they have the means to do this."

A prior check on the site could have certainly prevented his client from being physically attacked and forced for sex.

Ginsberg finds the proposed system 'imperfect'

However, Ginsberg still thinks that the plans of the site are not perfect for protecting their members.

Cautioning the members of her site, she said that the first meeting should always be planned at a public place and a friend should also have information about the whereabouts.

She said, "We want to stress that while these checks may help in certain instances, they remain highly flawed, and it is critical that this effort does not provide a false sense of security to our members."