Our reporting is free for everyone, but it’s not free to make.
LAist only exists with reader support. If you're in a position to give, your donation powers our reporters and keeps us independent.
Court Date For Match.com Rape Victim & Suspect
53-year-old Carol Markin, the Los Angeles woman suing the dating website Match.com after an alleged rape, will be in court Monday. Markin wants the site to stop accepting new subscribers until a screening system for sex offenders can be implemented.Alan Paul Wurtzel, the 67-year-old accused of the attack, allegedly raped Markin at her home on their second date. After the assault, Markin claims she discovered online that Wurtzel previously had been convicted of sexual battery. Match.com said the company would begin cross-referencing members against the National Sex Offender Registry, but that the process could take months to fully implement.
Notes ABC Local, Monday's hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. and Markin, Wurtzel as well as Match.com President Mandy Ginsberg are all expected to testify. "Attorneys for Markin said that the issue of sex offender screening has never been presented to court. They believe that this is an opportunity to obtain a federal guideline by which to measure sex offender screenings in online dating services." Wurtzel's attorney, however, asserts that the sex was consensual.